


Love and Duty

by SleepyCookie204



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe, Alternate story of AC Unity, Arno is not related to the de la Serres, F/M, I'm the worst possible person in tagging, Intense Arno/Élise, Light Torture, Might become M later, Some characters' surnames will change, The Assassin Ambush, The fall of the Bastille will be featured, The three Assassins from the trailer are here, There's something different about Élise..., Updates might take a while, kicking where it hurts :3, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-10 10:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7841332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyCookie204/pseuds/SleepyCookie204
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes
> 
> This fanfic here is basically a different/alternate version of the videogame Assassin's Creed: Unity. I am going to completely change the plot, it'll probably have no relation to the original plot. This is not a what-if or alternate ending of the game, it's just a different plot.
> 
> I am going to change some characters' surnames and loyalties, so don't be surprised if you find something like Élise Mirabeau (just an example, ain't gonna happen XD.
> 
> I also included the three Assassins from the E3 trailer that Ubisoft decided to forget.
> 
> Greencoat: Olivier
> 
> Axeman: Jacques
> 
> Icecream: André
> 
> To be honest, this chapter here is going to be quite boring, only a simple introduction to the new characters. The next chapter is going to be more exciting though!
> 
> Enjoy.

_April 26, 1789_

_Versailles_

"The truce is being questioned by many within the Brotherhood." Mirabeau informed the Templar Grand-Master, sitting on a chair with two of his best Assassins standing behind him.

"Many within the Order are also questioning and doubting the truce, Mirabeau." François de la Serre replied, looking to the Assassin standing behind Mirabeau, a tall man wearing blue robes. De la Serre then stood ad poured some wine on two cups, handing one of them to the Assassin Mentor. "Don't worry, it isn't poisoned." De la Serre told the Mentor with a little smile.

"I know you better than that, François." Mirabeau replied with another smile, drinking the entire cup in one large gulp. "And a man like me, how can I deny a glass of wine?" The Mentor completed, turning and looking at the blue-coated Assassin. "Arno, please go fetch the letter." Mirabeau requested, and Arno replied with a hurried "Of course, Mentor." before quickly going down the stairs and walking towards Mirabeau's carriage. The older men upstairs continued to talk and babble about the truce.

"Most boring mission I've ever been..." Arno muttered to himself, opening the door to the carriage and searching for the object Mirabeau asked him to retrieve. He opened a bag with the symbol of the Brotherhood, and picking up the desired object and storing it on his pocket. He then exited the carriage and closed the door, seeing a pretty red-headed woman silently walking and observing the De la Serre mansion. "Don't try to charm a beautiful woman you've just met in the middle of a mission." He whispered to himself, soon opening the door to the mansion and being greeted by that stupid arrogant butler.

The butler followed him on the stairs, telling him to do something, which Arno easily ignored. He wasn't really up to do random chores for a butler on a estate he had never been before, and in the middle of an important mission. He came silently to Monsieur de la Serre's office, and before opening the door, saw a strange man, dressed pompously with a dark suit, a small top hat and a heavily-powdered face. That man was trouble, he could tell by only looking at him. The stranger was waiting impatiently at the corridor, occasionally speaking to his companion, a spineless short man, in heavily dirty clothes with broken glasses.

"I heard that one of your lieutenants was expelled from your Order?" Mirabeau questioned the Templar Grand Master, taking another gulp of his cup of wine. Our mentor surely drinks a lot, which means that I can drink even more. Arno thought to himself, completely ignoring the more serious question that was asked.

"Yes, I feared that if he stayed any longer it would have caused a fight." De la Serre replied coldly, clearly not wanting to touch the matter. "François-Thomas Germain was his name, he was a trusted friend of mine." De la Serre explained. "Until he started telling me that we should take down the monarchy, start a bloody revolution and give all the power the nobility has to the middle class. He claimed that he could speak with Jacques de Molay, the man was clearly going mad."

"I see." Mirabeau said, not taking too much interest in the expulsion. Arno walked in the room silently, and Mirabeau took a few seconds to notice him. "Ah Arno, you're here." The Mentor said when he finally noticed the lower-ranked Assassin. "Hand me the letter please?" Mirabeau asked, looking at Arno. "Yes, Mentor." Arno nervously said and gave Mirabeau a letter that he didn't really knew the contents.

Mirabeau then stood up and walked towards De la Serre. "Here it is." He simply said, handing the letter to De la Serre and then saying goodbye to the Templar Grand Master. "Let's go, Arno." Mirabeau said, looking at Arno. "Olivier, come." He said to the other Assassin, a slightly taller man than Arno, wearing a green coat.

The strange man with the heavily powdered face and his spineless servant then came walking to De la Serre's office, after the three Assassins left quietly. Arno could hear the argument between Monsieur de la Serre and the mysterious man, which resulted in the door to the office being kicked open by the man and he and his spineless servant leaving, a look of clear annoyance and hate in both of the men's faces.

Arno walked next to Olivier, ready to talk to his green-coated friend. "Seems our little friend and his spineless lackey have been unlucky over there." Arno whispered into Olivier's ear, smirking and giggling at the two men's clear angered looks. Olivier cast a disappointed look on Arno, crossing his arms and trying his best to look like the mature and serious version of his blue-coated friend.

"Shut up Arno, we're in the middle of a serious mission." He quickly stated, loud enough so Mirabeau could hear and laugh at his underlings' moral differences. Arno sighed, annoyed by the fact that Olivier was always trying to be the big serious dude who doesn't cares about humor and comedy, only the Creed, the tenets and the mission itself.

The trio walked silently to Mirabeau's carriage, and Arno once again saw the pretty red-headed woman that was observing the state earlier, doing the same thing she was doing before. He cast his supposedly charming gaze at the woman, but she just looked at him and sighed, ignoring him and turning around. A woman with such looks was probably used to the usual stares she received by the men of her age.

They entered the carriage, and Arno tried to talk with the two older Assassins, but they were both too concentrated on the actual mission, though Mirabeau was friendlier with him. The Mentor showed the two younger Assassins that they have been lucky to be born rich, showing the misery on the streets. Versailles was definitely clearer and less miserable than Paris, but there were still peasants begging for money on the streets, the nobles usually simply ignoring them.

After the long hours of the trip from Versailles back to Paris, they finally arrived at the Assassin Sanctuary, with Olivier and Mirabeau going underground the secret Sanctuary and Arno going to his Café Théâtre, where he went to talk with his friend Jacques.

"How's it going, Jacques?" Arno asked, sitting on the chair next to Jacques, and taking a sip of his coffee.

"I should be the one asking!" Jacques replied, finishing his cup. "Ugh, I always hated this." He murmured, cleaning his mouth with a handkerchief. "How did the mission go?"He finally asked.

"Normal, the Mentor discussed some matters about the truce with Grand-Master De la Serre." Arno replied, looking at the peasants begging for money on the entrance, being ignored by the nobles that were passing by. "I'd say it was boring as hell, the only thing I did was stand behind Mirabeau with Olivier and fetch some letter from his carriage. Though I'd say I saw such a beautiful woman outside Monsieur de la Serre's estate." He finished.

"Jeez, Arno, you and your supposedly charming looks probably didn't work again." Jacques stated rather than asked, preparing to stand up and leave.

"Shut up, Jacques." Arno laughed. "You're just jealous of my looks." Arno stated, smirking.

"At least I'm not a damn virgin." Jacques replied, now smiling coldly. "Unlike the pretty boy here."

"That's because I'm not the type of guy that wastes money on whores. You're just ugly and can't conquer someone, so you just pay for sex." Arno replied, standing up and putting his chair back on it's place.

"This is the most awkward conversation I've ever had with someone." Jacques laughed, putting back his hood and picking his axe from the wall, placing it on his back. "Goodbye Arno, I've got a mission of the Cour des Miracles and I've already wasted enough time."

"Goodbye Jacques, good luck in trying to make that place a fair one." Arno replied, walking up the stairs to his room. He checked his small iron box of letters, seeing if he received any new one. He opened it, and saw one that seemed new, picking it up and breaking the seal.

_Arno,_

_It will probably amuse you that Grand-Master de la Serre_   _has included you on his party at the Palais de Versailles, one of his special Assassin guests. You are to go to my carriage, outside my little estate in Versailles, on May 5. You and Jacques, Olivier and André are to pretend to be engaged with Mademoiselle Corday, Gouze, Quemar and Dionne, respectively._

_Once inside, keep watch for trouble. It seems Monsieur de la Serre is suspicious that an individual within our or his Order is plotting to end the truce and that an attempt is possible to happen there._

_Sincerely,_

_Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau_

"Oh that's just great!" Arno exclaimed, happy and angered at the same time that he will attend one of the lavish parties in Versailles, but with his fellow Assassin Charlotte Corday. "At least I'm not going with Quemar's daughter, poor Olivier." He thought, remembering Master Quemar's daughter, who was just like her father.

Arno was surprised and caught a bit off guard when a pigeon arrived through the window, dropping a letter on the box and then "sitting" on Arno's desk. Annoyed, Arno removed the new letter from the box and sighed, just by looking at the top of the letter, the nickname revealing the author.

_Hello pisspot,_

_As you can probably tell, I'm not the most patient man on Earth and I don't like writing letters, unless it's important. I already know that you are attending the Templar party alongside Mirabeau and others, so before you do that, I want you to do a favor for me._

_In the old graveyard of the Chapelle, there's a grave of a man named François-Thomas Germain. I want you to go there, and dig out the grave to see if the man's corpse is there. Yes, I know that Mirabeau and the rest of the council don't like to do things such as grave-robbing, but this is important._

_I trust you are going to do as you're told, once you're done, go to my house and tell me if Germain's corpse is still there._

_Sincerely,_

_Pierre Bellec_

"Merde." Arno muttered, amazed by the fact Bellec wanted him to dig-out a coffin and see if the corpse is still there. "What's so important about this guy anyway." Arno murmured to himself, picking up the ink and writing a response letter to Bellec. After finishing it, he gave it to the waiting pigeon and ordered him to go.

He watched as the pigeon graciously flew away through the white sky. He admired birds, especially eagles, they were such fascinating animals that he felt linked to them somehow, as if he could use an eagle's sense.

Someone knocked on his door, and he sighed, there were enough complications as it is, he didn't need any additional ones. Deciding that he was done with it, he ignored the knocks and exited the room through the window, watching the room under the cover of the outside wall.

"Dorian! Where the hell are you?" He heard that annoying familiar voice, and decided that it was best not to play with Mademoiselle Corday's mind, which was full of rage as it is. He entered his room again, unlocking the door and opening it to allow her to enter.

"Mademoiselle Corday." He said as he smiled at the figure in front of him, kneeling and taking her hand, lightly kissing it. She sighed, as Arno rose and looked at her. "May I know what brings you here?" He finally asked, still smiling gently.

"Ah Dorian, stop being such a gentleman with us women and talk normal." She told him, ignoring his question. Before he could reply, she already opened her mouth to talk. "Do you know about the party in the next few weeks?" She asked him, looking at a picture he had hung on his wall.

"Of course I do, mademoiselle." He replied, easily keeping his gentle smile up. "It appears that we both are going to be coupled temporarily, huh?" He chuckled.

"Oh unfortunately." She replied. "And I'm here to find out why the hell you did that!" She angrily said, furiously looking at him.

"I'm sorry, Mademoiselle Corday, I had no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh but you do! Why did you told Mirabeau for me to come with you?!"

"But I didn't, I though you had suggested it."

"Damn him!"

"Who?"

"The Mentor! Why did he made us come together?"

"Oh because we're both skilled Assassins, nothing else."

"Sure, goodbye."

Charlotte Corday then turned around and opened the door, ready to leave.

"Did you seriously came here only to do this?" Arno asked.

"Yes! Goodbye Dorian."

She hurriedly left, and Arno was left confused by her sudden visit. There was more to that, she just didn't want to tell him, but he didn't really cared, he undressed and went to bed, desiring a good night's rest.


	2. Beginnings of a Conspiracy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)

_April 29_ , _1789_

_Paris_

It had been three days since Arno was tasked by his master, Pierre Bellec, to go to the Sainte-Chapelle's graveyard and search for the grave and coffin of a man named François-Thomas Germain. Bellec revealed no information about Germain, only ordering Arno to find his coffin and see if there any actual corpse on it. Arno was disgusted by the thought of a rotten and decomposed corpse, but he had to do this.

Arno went to the graveyard at night, so he would have less chance to attract unwanted attention from the passing citizens. He searched for entire hours for the desired grave, finally finding it on a specially dark spot of the graveyard. He kneeled before the grave, reading the inscription that read "Francois-Thomas Germain, 1726-1787". The man had apparently died two years ago, and after some long minutes of just staring at the grave and thinking about recent events, Arno picked up his shovel and started digging, quietly singing a lullaby he remembered from his days as a child.

He kept digging and digging, a pile of dirt accumulating on the stone cold floor near the grave.

He finally reached the coffin, and saw that it was somehow locked by an iron lock. "Merde." He muttered, he had no key for this coffin."Seems I'll have to use the 'special key' to unlock this lock." He silently said, liberating his hidden blade and giving multiple hits to the lock, "unlocking" it. He then opened the coffin, seeing that there was no corpse on it, only an item of interest. A necklace with something on it...

A templar cross.

Giving the necklace a surprised look, Arno then picked it up and examined it, it was old and rusty. Part of it looked like it was about to break and fall. Arno then carefully slipped the fragile object into the pocket of his coat, closing the coffin and putting the dirt back in it's face. He then walked off the graveyard, but then a strange man in a ragged coat shouted something at him. Arno was confused by the man, having not heard a word of his shout.

"So sorry, friend. But could you repeat that?" Arno yelled back, taking a step closer to the man. The man didn't respond, and just came screaming at him, with a menacing axe in hand. Arno was taken aback by the man's sudden hostility, and unsheated his sword, ready to take a defensive position.

"Die, Assassin!" The man shouted, violently swinging the axe to Arno's direction. Arno easily dodged the furious but heavy blow, and proceeded to slice the man's belly with his sword. The man screamed in pain, dropping his axe and placing both of his hands on his bleeding belly, blood violently gushing from it. The man looked at Arno, a look of horror in his face, before removing his hands from his now blood-red belly.

"Please mademoiselle!" He shouted, as if there was a woman hidden and ready to help him. The man received no answer, and put his hands on the air, desperate for help. "Mademoiselle! I need help, I..." He was silenced by Arno's hidden blade on his throat, blood violently flowing like a river from it. The man gave Arno a final look, before falling dead on the cold floor. Arno cleaned his sword on the man's ragged coat, before kneeling and closing his eyes. "Repose en Paix." He silently told the corpse, who was now sinking on a pool of his own blood.

Arno stood up, before running off the scene to the dark street, eager to return to the Café Théâtre and to his bed. The stranger's corpse lied untouched by anyone, the dark red blood shining with the moon's light. A woman then slipped off her hiding spot and stood before the man's corpse, before sighing and leaving the graveyard.

Her red hair was illuminated by the two torches that marked the way off the graveyard.

* * *

_May 4, 1789_

_Unknown_

"Daughter". A tall hooded man said, looking at his daughter.

"Father." She replied.

"The soirée happens tomorrow."

"I know, father."

"I trust you know exactly how to proceed?"

"Yes."

"Good, my daughter."

The tall man then stood up from his grand-chair, taking a gulp of his wine chalice and putting it on the table.

"May the Father of Understanding guide us." He said, offering the chalice to his daughter.

"May the Father of Understanding guide us." She replied, finishing the chalice with a large gulp.

* * *

_May 5, 1789_

_Paris_

The Café Théâtre was bustling with activity, a man on the stage giving comedic speeches about a poor soldier who met a nobleman's daughter and tried his best to have her. Many nobles and other persons were sitting and listening to the comedian, while enjoying their coffee and taking profit of the situation to gossip of the recent events.

Arno, however, ignored the activity, and after giving instructions to the workers, quietly climbed the stairs to his bedroom in order to get ready for the party in Versailles. He took a hot bath, before fetching and putting on his best suit, a dark one with a red tie and silver shining buttons. He made sure all was perfect, placing his sword on it's hilt and placing his wrist blade under his sleeve. Having it around in crowded parties was always useful.

He then entered his carriage and ordered the coachman to go to Charlotte Corday's estate. He had to pick her up after all, much to his and her's displeasure. The coachman stopped, and Arno then exited the carriage and patiently awaited for his partner. She arrived, dressed in a gorgeous dress with a small hat, she probably wasn't very fond of lavish dresses, much like every woman of the Brotherhood.

"Finally here it seems." Arno joked, gazing her up and down.

"Shut up and let's go, Dorian." She coldly replied, ready to open the door. However, Arno was faster than her and quickly opened the door for her, slightly kneeling.

"It would be my pleasure, madame." He said, smiling. Charlotte entered the carriage, being soon followed by him, who sat next to her and ordered the coachman to proceed to Versailles.

"I'm not married, Dorian. So don't call me like that." She told him, probably annoyed by the fact he called her madame.

"Oh but you are, madame. At least only for this night." He replied, as the coachman quietly laughed. "And also, you have got to stop calling me 'Dorian', I'm now your loving husband Jean-Jacques de Sauveterre."

"Of course you are, and I'm your hating wife called Marie de Sauveterre, ain't I?" She joked. "Though if I was for real, I'd probably slice my husband's throat while he slept." She completed.

"Don't act like that, just enjoy the ride." He replied, apparently losing his patience in entertaining the woman.

The trip wasn't as long as they both predicted, and they arrived right on time on Mirabeau's estate in Versailles. Arno was amused to see Olivier with Master Quemar's daughter, Madeleine. "Finally, it seems all of you are here." Mirabeau stated, looking at each of the "couples" present. "I trust all of you have your wrist blades on?" He asked, examining each of the younger Assassins.

"Yes, even though us poor women can't bring swords." Mademoiselle Dionne replied, annoyed.

"We have nothing against you wielding swords, but it would seem strange for the rest of the idiot nobles." Mirabeau replied. "Now, each of you get in your respective carriages and see if there's any trouble in the soirée. Here's your proper invitations." He said as he gave the invitations to each one, before entering his own carriage and leaving.

"Wish me luck!" Olivier said after he allowed Madeleine into his carriage, Arno and his two other friends laughed at him. Each couple then entered their respective carriages and ordered the coachman to go to the Palais de Versailles. Charlotte and Arno were going to be the last of the four couples to show their invitations and pass through the gate, though there was a man he had the feeling of having met before between Jacques and André. Arno listened as each of them showed their invitations.

"Charles and Françoise Beaumont." Olivier said, handing his and his pair's invitations.

"Julien and Suzanne de la Roche." Jacques said, doing the same.

"Alphonse da Sierra." The strange man said, before handing a strange invitation.

"Louis and Margot Matte." André said, handing both invitations.

The time for Arno and Charlotte arrived, and Arno forced a smile to the invitations man and grabbed his and her's invitation. "Jean-Jacques and Marie de Sauveterre." He said as he gave the invitations to the man. The man nodded and opened the gate for them, and the couple entered, following the three others.

The four couples met with Mirabeau at a deserted room inside the Palais, while all the other nobles danced and ate at the great halls. Mirabeau then stood up from the chair he was sitting while he was waiting, and distributed a paper to each of the "couples".

"These papers indicate four of the possible locations of this man, Charles Gabriel Sivert, and his accomplices." Mirabeau explained. "You are to survey the area for Sivert and his thugs, and if he goes to your location, eavesdrop on him and learn what they're plotting."

"Who's this Sivert fellow anyway?" Jacques asked, probably disappointed by the already obvious fact that there would be no trouble or tasks in a party like this.

"Monsieur de la Serre has been sending spies to... spy on him. His spies have already found enough information to think that he and his accomplices are conspiring against De la Serre." Mirabeau explained, walking and looking to the palace window, seeing the crowd of nobles entering and leaving the Palais.

"Is he supposed to leave this place alive?" Arno asked, looking at his hidden blade.

"Only kill him if necessary, and only with my consent. After you find and eavesdrop on Sivert, you need to come back to me and report the situation. I may or may not give you permission to bring him peace, depending on the situation." Mirabeau stated, nodding for them to go.

Arno and Charlotte then started to walk to their designed location, passing through the huge party full of nobles and associates of De la Serre. Arno picked up a cup of wine from the food table and casually drank it, putting it back on another random table.

"You aren't supposed to drink during a mission, Dorian." Charlotte remarked, chuckling slightly.

"I'm afraid you are in no position to reprimand me of drinking during missions, Mademoiselle Corday." Arno stated, fastening his pace in order to reach Sivert's meeting place as soon as possible.

"Oh don't even talk about that." Charlotte started. "How was I supposed to resist that box of the finest-quality Italian wine?" She asked, picking a wine cup for herself and drinking it quickly before Arno could notice.

"I'm in no place to judge, Mademoiselle." Arno said, and Charlotte smiled victorious. Her supposed victory was short-lived though, as Arno continued on. "Don't think I didn't saw that."

"Ah shut up, Arno." She said angrily. "We're even now, can we just find Sivert already?" She asked impatiently, almost removing her hand from Arno's strong arm.

"You called me Arno." He whispered.

"What?!" She asked, not understanding a word of what he just whispered.

"Nothing, Mademoiselle Corday." He quickly, replied.

They reached the possible meeting room of Sivert and his accomplices shortly after, and Arno nodded for her to find a place to hide. He opened one of the doors to the wardrobe, and she opened the other one at the same time. Both of them sighed.

"Go to hell, Dorian." She swore, punching him lightly on the shoulder. Before he could do something, she entered the wardrobe effortlessly and closed the doors. Arno sighed, and noticed a little bit of her dress fabric was still visible through the door. He gently pushed it into the wardrobe, and heard voices coming. He quickly hid under the large golden bed, whispering that they were coming.

Arno used his Eagle Vision to see his targets coming, a large and overweight man with a top hat shining in gold leading the group, definitely Sivert, thought Arno. Four other men were behind them, all shining in red. Arno tried to look at them, partially succeeding.

"It happens tonight." He heard Sivert say, walking around the room, a large axe attached to his hip.

"That pompous fool will die slowly and painfully." A familiar man, taller than Sivert and with a heavily-powdered face and a small top hat, said. Arno instantly recognized him as the man that was at the De la Serre estate a week or so ago.

"Calm down, Monsieur de Sierra." Sivert told the man. "I'm afraid we'll have to do it quickly though, we don't want unwanted attention."

"Don't call me like that, Sivert." The man he called De Sierra said. "That's just another facade name."

"What am I supposed to call you then?" Sivert asked, raising an eyebrow. "Le Roi des Thunes."

"Exactly." Le Roi des Thunes replied.

"Will you two stop discussing, and let's put the plan on practice?" A tall man behind Sivert said, a dangerous halberd was hanging on his back. _"He's dangerous."_ Arno thought, examining the weapon behind the man.

"Rouille's right, sir." Le Roi des Thunes' spineless servant said. "We need to eliminate De la Serre as soon as possible."

"One of my men is posing as one of the guards at the Gardens, he told me that he can turn a blind eye for our little activity." The man they called Rouille explained. "However, if you make too much of a scandal, he said he and his partners will be forced to intervene." He completed with a sigh.

"That will be no trouble." Le Roi des Thunes stated. "But in case one of the stupid guests from the party sees us doing it..."

"Don't worry about that, sir." Rouille intervened. "I've already stationed two of my men at the exit to the gardens, no one will intervene."

"Good, we should go." Le Roi des Thunes declared, putting his hat back and walking off with his spineless servant, he then turned to look at Sivert. "The Master's daughter will meet with us in the main hall, it seems he wants her to deliver the killing blow to De la Serre." He explained.

"I know, we'll meet there soon." Sivert said. "For the time being, enjoy the festivities!" Sivert laughed.

"Yeah, sure." Le Roi des Thunes replied, slightly annoyed, then left with his servant. Sivert and Rouille followed them, and Arno then struggled to leave the bed. Reaching to open the wardrobe, he was interrupted by Charlotte violently getting out of it.

"Did you heard all of that?" Arno asked curiously.

"Of course I did!" She replied, walking off with Arno. "We need to go talk with Mirabeau, immediately." She completed, as they both fastened their paces.

"They plan to murder De la Serre, right in the palace gardens." He said, slightly surprised.

"I know, I heard them." She said.

They found Mirabeau in the middle of the main hall, talking with other nobles. Upon seeing them, he gently bid the nobles farewell and left to face Arno and Charlotte. Mirabeau walked to them impatiently, quickly getting the nobles out of his way and bidding them "merci." repeatedly.

"So?" Mirabeau asked.

"Sivert and another one of his accomplices, a certain le Roi des Thunes, plan to murder Monsieur de la Serre now. On the palace gardens, with the help of a woman." Arno hurriedly explained.

"Mentor, we have got to stop him!" Charlotte intervened.

"Yes, yes you do. I'll fetch the others in order to help you, but right now you've got to find Sivert and his accomplices, bring them peace." Mirabeau ordered. "NOW!"

"Yes, Mentor!" Both of them said, as they hurriedly left. "Sivert said that they would meet here." Arno said, scanning the area for Sivert and his thugs.

"Yes." Charlotte agreed. Arno used his Eagle Vision in order to find them, succeeding in doing so. Arno nodded at her for her to follow, and she quickly saw them.

"We need to follow them to a quiet place." Arno stated, but then both of them noticed that Sivert, le Roi des Thunes and a woman clad in a dark cloak were heading for the gardens.

"Let's go." Charlotte ordered.

"Let's." Arno agreed.

They both quickly moved through the crowd, almost running. When they were close to Sivert, one of his thugs closed the door behind him and followed on his path. Arno waited a few moments before opening the door, and the two guards that Rouille mentioned earlier were there. He and Charlotte were gazed with surprised and scared looks, but before any of the thugs could do something, they killed them. Arno ran at the first one and pierced his blade on his chest, blood gushing violently from it and a muffled "Ugh" escaping the thug's mouth. The second guard was dealt with by Charlotte, who sliced the man's throat, blood dominating the wall near him.

They then quickly placed the bleeding corpses behind two pillars, taking cover behind another one. Arno saw De la Serre and a fellow noble walking from another door, and Arno knew Sivert would strike now. He then ran the fastest he could, but it was too late. Le Roi des Thunes swiftly pulled a dagger from his coat and silently stabbed the noble's neck, blood gushing from the bleeding dead man.

De la Serre turned around with a look of horror in his face, he recognized Sivert. "Traitor." He accused, but Sivert had already stroke De la Serre's hips with his axe, making De la Serre's noble clothes being filled with red blood. De la Serre screamed in pain, and then he recognized someone.

A woman in a cloak approached him, her long dagger aimed at his throat. He somehow recognized the woman's face from many years ago. "You, my..." He started, but the bleeding was too heavy and he was having difficulty in speaking and breathing. The woman stopped in her tracks surprised by his sudden talk. "Kill him now!" le Roi said from a distance, watching the nearby guards pass by and not see them.

Arno approached them and his first instinct was to shout. "GUARDS! GUARDS, MURDER!" Arno shouted to the passing guards, and they quickly turned to look at the murderers. They nodded to each other and ran at the group of conspirator, swords in hand. Sivert picked his bloodied axe from the ground and attacked Arno, swinging the dangerous weapon on his direction. Arno easily dodged, and then extended his hidden blade and stabbed Sivert's gut. The man fell on the floor, hands still on his bleeding gut.

"My daugh..." De la Serre breathed as he tried to talk. "I thought you were dead." He finally said, collapsing on the guard, death preparing to embrace him.

"Kill him already!" Le Roi des Thunes shouted, already running off and nodding to his thugs. Five thugs clad in red tunics and with swords then arrived, while the coward escaped. The woman hesitated before finally impaling De la Serre's throat with her knife, sprinting off quickly. Charlotte arrived and Arno pointed at the escaping murderers, while the royal guards shot their muskets at le Roi's thugs.

The guards then ran after the murderers, Arno still on his feet. Charlotte kneeled before De la Serre's corpse, closing the man's eyes. "Dead." She stated, as the two remaining guards ordered her to leave. She approached Arno, who was looking at the pursuing guards, who were all shot dead by the ambushing thugs, who escaped.

"Thank you, monsieur." The guard told Arno. "Without you, they would have escaped unseen. At least we got some of them thugs and this man, who seems to be the leader." The guard then pointed at Sivert, who was bleeding to death.

Arno kneeled before Sivert, looking to the man's darkening eyes.

"Who hired you? Why did you do this?" Arno asked.

"For the good of the Order... my death doesn't matters no more, Assassin, De la Serre is dead." Sivert explained, spitting blood as a pool of blood began to form.

"Who ordered you?" Arno asked again.

"The Master... you will never get him." Sivert stated as he laid his head on the floor, his soul leaving his sinking vessel.

Arno then sighed, before closing Sivert's lifeless eyes and standing up and muttering "Repose en Pax." to him. Arno and Charlotte then found Mirabeau and the other Assassins entering the scene, Mirabeau being surprised with a lifeless look from his "ally", De la Serre was there, his corpse covered by blood with a dagger stuck to his throat. Next to him were a few thugs and royal guards, and the body of Charles Gabriel Sivert.

"Sivert and some of his associates are dead..." Charlotte begun.

"But we could't save De la Serre, and the true killers escaped." Arno finished hesitantly, even though his Mentor was comprehensive and calm, sometimes the fuel inside him exploded as fast as gunpowder, and it was likely it was going to happen now.

"Merde! This will end the truce, whoever orchestrated this will clearly take his place and destroy what's left of the truce." Mirabeau angrily said.

They walked back to their hideouts, where Mirabeau and the other masters discussed the next steps. The murder had confused the whole situation, and it was driving the council insane. Whoever took De la Serre's place wasn't very kind to the Assassins, and an estate owned by an Assassin and used as one of their headquarters had been recently looted and burnt down by the templars, who used the population against them. Mirabeau still didn't want to retaliate, but Bellec and most of the council found Mirabeau's decision foolish and destroyed one of the templars' main powder and guns warehouse, burning it down and killing everyone inside. They were in open conflict again with the Order...

...it was War.

Arno couldn't help but feel guilty, in his mind all of this happened because of him, who couldn't save De la Serre in time. In truth, there was no way to catch the murderers before they acted, but he thought different. He had spent hours rolling and talking to himself in bed, struggling to sleep.

 _I will fix this._ He thought as he drifted to sleep, the weight of such a long day falling on his shoulders.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you must be thinking "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" but all is going to be explained in the next few chapters.
> 
> Reviews are most welcome :3


	3. La Cour des Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)

_May 11, 1789_

_Paris_

The situation between the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order was now at where it once was, the truce was crushed by whoever took De la Serre's place as Grand-Master and Mirabeau and the council had to retaliate against the extremely hostile actions committed by the Templars. Pierre Bellec was leading the Assassins in the fresh new conflict with the Templar Order, having already destroyed some of their gun-warehouses.

To make the situation worse, France was in a terrible state. Violent revolts and attacks to nobles were spreading through Paris and the surrounding cities, crows of peasants arming themselves against the King and the nobles who treated them like mere animals. It was almost as if another revolution would start, as if there weren't enough ones in the entire century. There rumors within the pubs and brothels that the revolutionaries were planning to lay siege on the Bastille, in order to get gunpowder.

Arno, Olivier, Jacques and André were preparing to join Bellec in another attack on one of the Templars' strongholds. It was a brothel located on the miserable and poor district of the city, La Cour des Miracles, owned by some criminal Templar leader known as François-Joseph de Grignon. The Assassins had affiliations with the infamous Marquis de Sade, a popular figure within the Cour des Miracles, and rumored to be the rival of the current Roi des Thunes. Le Roi des Thunes was rumored himself to be a member of the Templar Order, as Arno had seen him as one of the murderers of François de la Serre. Mirabeau and the rest of the council still wanted more confirmation to make sure le Roi des Thunes is really a member of the Templar Order.

Arno and Jacques approached Bellec, Arno coming with his usual blue coat and hood, with a dangerous sword and a pistol hanging in his belt. Jacques was with a terrible and dangerous axe and a strange coat, with less layers of clothing than Arno's, with two pistols on his belt. Arno saw Olivier and André talking to each other about some female Assassins. _These idiots have no idea on how to get woman..._ Arno arrogantly thought, even though he himself wasn't in a serious relationship with anyone, he still got the usual looks from the young women on the Creed. He was interested in none of them though.

"The pisspots are finally here it seems..." Said Bellec as he walked in circles around them, observing the weapons they were carrying. He unsheated a dagger from his coat's pocket and cut some blood from his middle finger, an habit he had. "I trust you all know the mission?" He asked, drawing his attention from the blood to his underlings.

"Not actually." Jacques replied before anything had the chance to, receiving a punch in the shoulder in response by Arno. Jacques laughed slightly, but then Bellec's serious gaze got him and he stayed quiet.

"I am disappointed..." Bellec started, sighing heavily and placing his hand on his own forehead.

"Master, please, it's just Jacques..." Arno started, but received another light punch on the shoulder by Olivier in response. He looked confused to Olivier, and Bellec then shifted his attention to Arno.

"Not only because one of my best men doesn't know about the important mission at hand..." Bellec started, walking around Jacques and Arno. "Also because another one of my best men doesn't know to keep his mouth shut." Bellec completed, angrily looking at Arno. He looked frustrated, probably wanting to continue the mission. "But this will all be forgot by my wonderful Assassins, so let's get to the mission." He completed.

Before Jacques could say anything, Arno approached him and whispered "Shut up and listen to him." on his ear. Bellec probably heard them, but ignored it.

"We have to infiltrate that brothel and kill Grignon, getting as much information from the Templars as possible." Bellec explained, pointing at the lavishly large brothel for a district like the Cour des Miracles. "Jacques and André will distract the guards in the front entrance, Olivier will silently climb the brothel and kill all the snipers before you two can begin the distraction. Me and Arno will take care of Grignon." He explained quickly. "Understood?"

"Yes." Each of them muttered as they prepared to put the plan in practice.

Arno followed Bellec to a building near the brothel, and they waited for Olivier to eliminate the snipers guarding the brothel. Arno decided to tell Bellec of the events at the Saint-Chapelle's graveyard, the damaged Templar cross from the coffin still on his pocket. "I went to the Chapelle's graveyard as you asked..." Arno started, picking the necklace from his pocket and shoving it's dirt off.

"And?" Bellec asked, turning his attention to Arno. "Is the man still in the coffin?"

"No." Arno said as he gave the necklace with the Templar cross on it to Bellec, who was surprised to see it. "I only found this inside the coffin." Arno finished as he observed his green-coated friend take down the snipers swiftly.

"Merde..." Bellec said with frustration, angrily throwing the necklace off the building and standing up. "The bastard's alive." Bellec supposed, looking to the passing peasants below, most of them ignoring the mutilated beggars asking for money.

"Who's this Germain fellow anyway?" Arno asked, confused. "Is he a Templar?"

"I suspect he's more than a Templar." Bellec said, walking to the edge of the rooftop. He saw that Olivier had taken care of the snipers and that André and Jacques were fighting Grignon's thugs. _The perfect moment..._ Bellec thought as he observed an open window that led into the brothel's upper levels, definitely where Grignon lived and plotted with the Templars. "Plenty of time to explain later, Pisspot." Bellec told Arno as he pointed at the open window. "We've got the upper hand here, let's go!"

Bellec effortlessly jumped from the building to the window, easily entering it and nodding for Arno to come. Arno hesitated before doing the same, the cold air brushing against him and making him feel good, but the risk of him falling to his death making him feel bad. Arno quickly shrugged off these thoughts and managed to get through the window to the Brothel's upper quarters.

"Let's find that rat." Bellec said as he opened the door to the corridor outside the pleasure room they had entered. They both took cover behind the door as five of Grignon's thugs ran through the corridors, their leader shouting to them that there are three intruders downstairs. _Olivier must have joined the fight._ Arno thought as he observed the angry thugs clumsily climbing down the stairs.

"Fucking assassins!" A voice from another room was heard, as the door to it was opened and Arno was embarrassed to see what he just did. A naked woman ran through, not seeing them and falling on the ground before them accidentally, probably scared by either them or whatever animal of a human was "treating" her. "Please monsieur, let me go!" She shouted as the man who was with her exited the room, the man happened to be Grignon himself. "YOU!" Grignon shouted, but Arno had swiftly shot a Phantom Blade on the man's throat.

"Go, mademoiselle." Arno said, trying not to look at the naked woman. "And we'll bring this terrible man to justice." Arno completed, and the girl eagerly nodded and ran off. Bellec and Arno then approached the bleeding Grignon, who was desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

"Fucking Assassins!" Grignon repeated, grabbing a pistol from his belt and aiming it at Arno. Bellec quickly kicked the pistol out of the man's hand, proceeding to kick him again in the nose. "My death will bring you nothing in return, Assassins!" He yelled, as blood began to form behind his bleeding throat.

"I'm afraid it will." Bellec coldly replied, ignoring Grignon's bleeding screams and examining the corridors for any Templar information.

"What? Another little chess piece on the Grand-Master's game eliminated, an insignificant one!" He said, as his eyes began to darken, death preparing to embrace him.

Upon hearing that, Arno quickly kneeled before Grignon, placing his hands on the man's jacket and pulling him up. "Who's your new Grand-Master?!" Arno angrily asked, clenching his fist and threatening to punch the dying man in the face. Grignon spat blood, before taking a deep breath.

"Your mommy!" Grignon sarcastically replied, laughing and spitting blood on the same time. Angered, Arno brutally punched the man in the face, probably offended that he joked about his supposedly deceased mother.

"I ask again, who is your new Grand-Master?" Arno asked, but Grignon was no more, giving Arno a terrified look as life left his body. Arno angrily dropped his corpse on the cold wood floor, muttering "Repose en Paix." to the dead man's corpse, who was now sinking in a pool of his own body. Jacques, Olivier and André then arrived in the corridor, quickly climbing the stairs and staring at their target's lifeless body.

"We've completed our task, pisspot." Bellec said, trying to calm Arno. "Grignon's dead, we've weakened the Templar influence on la Cour des Miracles." Bellec said, as he closed Grignon's dark dead eyes, something Arno should have done but didn't.

"If we want to destroy the Templar influence here, we need to kill that worm who rules the district!" Arno suggested, cleaning the blood on his coat with a white handkerchief.

"Well, I'd like to do that, but the council is full of fat idiots who don't want to do such a thing." Bellec replied. "Let's get out of here before Grignon's thugs show up.

They swiftly left the brothel, and Arno managed to get a letter from Grignon's room. He didn't showed it to Bellec though, and returned to his Café-Théâtre where he decided to get a good night's rest.

* * *

_May 12, 1789_

_Paris_

Arno woke up not due to the golden Sun rays that were bustling through his window, but due to the violent yelling and shouting of the nearby crowds of protesting peasants. _Look at the mess our stupid King made._ He thought to himself, remembering the lavish party he had to go two years or so ago where King Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette herself was present. Soon, Paris would be torn apart by revolts, soon...

He pushed the bed covers aside, standing up and dressing himself on a casual coat with black trousers. He went to his desk and sat on his chair, preparing to set up the investigation on the newly led Templar Order. He opened the wooden drawer and grabbed the letter he had got from Grignon's documents the day earlier during the latter's assassination. Arno opened it and read it curiously.

_Monsieur Grignon,_

_The Grand-Master's daughter is coming to your "place" in the next three days, I ask of you that you provide her with the best food and quarters you have, and don't go making plans with her. She will arrive on May 13, and if just in case you "disappear", she will still go on to your home. You are a worthless rat compared to her, so make sure she doesn't get hurt or else._

_The Assassins have been harder to destroy than we expected, but they will be taken care of nonetheless._

_Your Lord,_

_Le Roi des Thunes_

Arno smiled at what he had just discovered. With this letter he could prove to the council that le Roi des Thunes was indeed a Templar, and he also knew of the new Grand-Master's daughter. Through her he could learn his identity. He decided that before handing this letter to the council, he would have a meeting of sorts with this woman. _No doubt my looks will convince her_. He thought to himself.

He opened his little iron box of letters, and was relieved to find that there were no new ones yet. He went to his weapons room and picked up a sword, a double-barreled pistol and various types of bombs. He put on his hidden blade on his wrist, before grabbing his Assassin blue coat and putting it on. He climbed down the stairs, noticing that Jacques and Olivier were sitting on a table, chatting about something and eating their cakes and coffee.

"Good morning." Arno said as he approached and took a seat on their table.

"Good morning indeed." Jacques said with a smile, laughing lightly.

"Why, what happened?" Arno asked, receiving smiles in return. "Seriously, what happened?"

"Olivier here slept with Quemar's daughter!" Jacques told anxiously, annoying Olivier.

"Should have known that..." Arno replied, giggling at Olivier's red cheeks.

"It's not like that..." Olivier started, but was interrupted by both of them.

"It is..." Arno said firmly. "Alright guys, I'm leaving for something..." Said Arno before Olivier could say anything else. He then stood up from his chair and placed it back on it's place, and then started walking off the Café.

"Going to meet someone, little Arno?" Jacques mocked. He was probably really surprised about the recent "event".

"Actually yes..." Arno replied, turning around to face him. "But don't worry, I don't really thing there's going to be sex in the middle of this." He joked, resuming his walk.

"Arno!" Olivier yelled, suddenly very annoyed, but Arno had already left. Olivier slammed his fist on the table while Jacques laughed hysterically.

* * *

_Three Hours Later._

_Cour des Miracles, Paris._

The air of la Cour des Miracles smelled like shit. The beggars were all with strange characteristics to each of them, some of them probably fake in order to get their precious livres for their brutal master. Arno observed the spineless man overseeing a man's leg being sliced as a punishment for not paying the tributes to le Roi des Thunes in time. Arno's first instinct was to intervene, but it was too late and the man was already lost.

He continued walking through the miserable and dangerous district of the city, occasionally throwing a livre or two at nearby beggars who were almost yelling for money. He observed as a naked man ran after two top-less whores, and as a drunk smashed a bottle of beer in another drunk's head. _So this is the wonderful Cour des Miracles?_ Arno thought, laughing as a man in dirtied noble clothes stumbled out of a tavern, shouting something about the King having threesomes with whores.

He recognized Grignon's former brothel, which was now closed down and some of the former clients were annoyingly outside. _Seems Grignon was le Roi des Thunes' only good brothel owner_. Arno thought, seeing that two thugs were guarding the door to the former brothel. He used his Eagle Vision and scanned the building for targets. He saw several red-lighted thugs walking through and a golden-lighted cloaked figure on a bedroom which seemed different from the others.

"Hey you, stop staring!" One of the two thugs shouted at him, taking a step-closer and putting his hand on the sword on his belt. Arno ignored and then continued to walk, further examining the building. He saw a weakness, the same window that he and Bellec entered through last night was still opened. _My target is exactly on that room._ He assumed, wondering why the hell the supposed daughter of the new Templar Grand-Master had opened the window in such a miserable district.

He was surprised when he felt an arm on his shoulder, pushing on the ground. Confused, he saw the thug from before. "I told you to stop staring!" He yelled, drawing his sword and preparing to attack him. Arno quickly got on his feet and grabbed his sword from the ground, defending various furious attacks from the man. He saw a breach between the man's shoulder and heart, and swiftly ran the man through with his sword.

The thug spat blood before falling on the floor, hands on his bleeding wound. "Should have ignored me, mon ami." Arno said, taking a step closer to the dying man.

"What can I say?" The man said, lowering his head on the floor. "Ever since Grignon died, we can't be too careful, especially when it involves the Grand-Master's daughter." He said as life left his eyes. Arno closed the man's eyes and muttered "Repose en Paix." to him before attempting to climb to the open window. He eventually reached it, and the room was empty. He saw an object that wasn't there the night before, a box.

Arno approached the item and opened it, inside there was a ring and a letter. He tried to break the seal of the letter, but was interrupted by a sudden bang on his head. He fell on the floor, and looked up to see a red-headed woman kicking him on the chest.

It was the last thing he could see before he was unconscious.

* * *

_May 15, 1789_

_Unknown_

Arno awoke up in an iron chair on a dark room in a dark place. His hands were firmly tied on a strong leather rope, and he was stripped of his weapons and wrist blade.

"Where the hell am I?" He muttered to himself, trying to remember the last things he had seen and heard.

He remembered infiltrating Grignon's old brothel, and then being knocked off by a red-headed woman. That was all.

_Where did you get yourself this time, Arno?_


	4. Strange Things are Afoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)

_May 15, 1789_

_Unknown_

Darkness was the only thing that Arno could see in the dark room he was confined by whoever knocked him off at Grignon's brothel. There was a single candle near the wooden chair he was tied to, and the sensible fire on it was probably about to fade out. He was only wearing his white shirt and dark-blue trousers, robbed of any weapons he was carrying earlier.

He didn't know what day it was, neither where he actually was. On the dark room he could see a cell door, where he thought thugs were passing by. _This room is excessively big for a cell_. Arno thought, but then realization dawned on him. He started to try to break the leather on his wrist, but they were too strong. Even with all his best efforts, he couldn't break it. He needed a better motivation other than just his own life to break an extremely strong leather rope.

It was a torture room.

The room was very warm and hot, and Arno's face was covered by sweat due to the temperature. _A glass of water would be very welcome here._ He thought, as his breathing became more struggling.

He heard voices from the door, and also yells and shouts, as the thugs guarding the fortress argued with each other about anything. Until it suddenly was opened by two heavy-weight thugs, who closed the iron door behind them. They slowly walked towards Arno, one of them with a lantern in hand, placing the object on a small wooden table near Arno.

The other one placed a strange box on the table at the other side, opening it and checking the objects inside. "Everything is in order." The thug told the other one, closing the box and looking at Arno. "Are you awake?" He asked, tapping Arno's back.

"No, I think I'm dead..." Arno hurriedly joked, unable to contain himself. The thug slapped Arno's cheek in response, making blood flow through it. Arno sighed in pain, knowing that this was probably only the beginning. The thug punched him again, this time stronger and faster, hitting him right on the nose. Arno spat blood, trying to contain the pain assaulting him.

He watched in shock as the other man opened the box and took off a wooden hammer, running it through his fingers. The thug smiled at it, and slowly walked to Arno's direction. The man kneeled and lowered his head, grabbing Arno's hair and making him look right in his eyes.

"This can end very quickly..." The man started, swinging the menacing brutal hammer near Arno. "Or very slowly, if you are uncooperative." The man completed, hitting Arno's shoulder with the empty side of the hammer. _The side with nothing already hurts like hell, I imagine what the other one does._ He thought, terrified at the thought of being repeatedly assaulted by that hammer.

Arno watched with even more shock on his eyes when he noticed the other thug grabbing an iron chain from the box, swinging it next to Arno's face which was covered in blood. The leading thug then strengthened his grip on Arno's hair, suddenly pulling his head up and standing up, dropping it on the cold and hard wooden chair. "What do you want anyway..." Arno tried to ask, but the pain on his neck's back was really hurting.

"Simple." The thug said as he walked in circles around Arno. "The location of the Assassin Sanctuary." He completed, suddenly stopping walking and heading to the door. He opened the little window and was surprised to see who he saw, he hurriedly opened the door and kneeled before the figure entering the room.

"Madame..." The thug said, trying to sound like the thing he was the exact opposite. A gentleman.

"Mademoiselle. I'm not married." The woman corrected, walking towards Arno. The man was still at his knees and he hurriedly got up in order to accompany her.

_You've got to be kidding me..._ Arno thought as he observed the woman closely. She had long and natural red-hair, emerald green eyes and was tall for a woman of her age. She was around his age and had a sword attached to her belt, a pistol on the other side. He concluded that that person was the woman from earlier, before the situation got like this.

Before the truce was destroyed...

"Are you Arno Dorian?" She asked, looking seriously on his eyes. Arno decided he would try to avoid that green gaze of hers, it was haunting and gave him a feeling he didn't know what it actually was.

"I'd like to know a woman's name before she knows mine." Arno simply replied, trying to look good. He was still hurt, so it was hard to do so.

"The feeling is mutual, Monsieur." She replied, slightly smiling.

"Oh yes, I am Arno Dorian." Said Arno as he reclined on his chair, trying to stop the pain on the back of his head. The other two thugs had deposited their torture tools on the box, standing up behind the woman, hands on their axes.

"Good, mind you tell us where is your Sanctuary located?" The woman asked as she took a step closer to him, looking firmly through his eyes.

"If I answer, what will you do?" Arno innocently asked, though the answer was obvious to him and everyone else.

"Simple. We will kill everyone there, burn it to the ground and then leave." The woman replied as she walked around him.

"Great..." Arno said, probably annoyed. _Don't these idiots realize that truces are more effective than bloodshed?_ Arno thought, now firmly looking through the woman's green eyes. She seemed to decide that she would try to avoid that gaze, it was... haunting, and had a feeling she still didn't know what it was.

"So, Monsieur Dorian. Will you please tell us?" She finally asked, trying to smile while avoiding his gaze.

"Don't you jerks remember the truce?" Arno violently asked, ignoring her question.

"Of course we do, it's already taken care of." She simply replied.

"Then don't you see the advantages of it?" Arno asked, suddenly forgetting about the pain on his back and kind of... dedicated.

"I don't actually do." She replied again, stopping walking and looking at him.

"Thought so."

"Tell me, then." She replied, a spark of interest suddenly rising inside her stomach. The two other thugs exchanged curious looks, their hands leaving the axes.

"Less blood, less death, less conflict..." Arno said, continuing through it. "Less innocent deaths, less collateral damage..." He continued and continued, listing all of it.

"I see."

"Do you?"

"I think so."

The woman walked towards Arno, examining him closely. Arno was surprised by her attitude, it was making him nervous. He felt something deep within his soul, but he couldn't realize what it was just yet.

"What's your name?" Arno asked, and the two thugs behind the woman were even more surprised by his peaceful attitude.

"Élise." She replied instinctively, suddenly being confused by her own reaction.

"My my..." Arno started, seeming surprised. "I finally met a Templar who seems to have some agreements with the truce..."

"Don't be too convinced." She replied quietly, before nodding for the two men to go. The men exchanged even more confused, and she gave them a cruel look, they seemed to think that she was going to begin the torture, but she herself wasn't too sure of that actually.

The men tossed her the key, and then exited the room silently. _What the hell is going on here?_ Arno thought, extremely confused by the situation.

"So..." Arno started. "Mademoiselle Élise, who really are you?"

"Just another Templar, and your enemy." She simply replied, but then picked up a whip from the box and showed it to Arno, who in turn looked at it with a frightened gaze, breathing heavily. "Now, we need to get to the real matter." She said as she caressed the whip. _I never liked doing this._ Élise thought.

"Didn't you listen to anything I had told you just now?" He asks, impatient, but also scared by that dark whip in her hands.

"I did, Monsieur Arno." She said, approaching him and standing just inches before him. She then punched his jaw with her knee, making him scream in pain as a response, blood now flowing from his new and flesh wound. "But I still want the answer for my early question." She completed and the tip of the whip slightly touched his thigh, Arno being relived that it didn't hit where it actually hurt.

If he refused to tell her the answer, he would get out there wounded and bleeding like a stuck pig. He could just say it and maybe they will release him, or at least a quick and painless death. _No, I've done enough wrong. Screw this and me, I'm not telling her anything._ He thought, suddenly feeling some dedication deep within his stomach, as he looked at her with an angry gaze. Élise looked at him with a curious look, asking with her green eyes the answer.

"You know, Mademoiselle Élise, I actually tried to be gentle with a lady like you." Arno started, firmly looking through her emerald green eyes. She sighed in response, turning her back to him in frustration. "But you can kiss my ass!" Arno completed, yelling the last three words at the back of her face, anger dominating him. Élise turned back to him and whipped his cheek with the dark whip, making him scream painfully, as a firm line on his cheek formed and blood began to form in it.

"There's more from where that came from, now if you just tell..." She tried to start, but then he violently spat on her face, destroying all the sense of gentleman he had left inside him for that woman. She gave a little girlish squeak in surprise, and then angrily kicked him where it really did hurt. Arno screamed even louder with his new pain, closing his eyes and waiting for the next one. She mercilessly kicked his stomach repeatedly in a fit of rage, finally stopping on her tracks and walking a little far from him. She sighed deeply, looking at Arno, who was now with his stomach covered in blood and his face bruised, breathing heavily.

"Please, Monsieur Arno..." She pleaded, wiping the sweat from her face. She walked over to him and put his face up, forcing him to look at her. His eyes were full of pain and fear, and he tried to break free from her grip, being unsuccessful on that. "I don't need to continue this, you just start..."

"Just shut up and kill me already will you?" He said, ignoring all the forced comprehension on her green eyes. He finally broke free from her grip, lowering his head and looking to the ground, his mind now empty.

"If you keep up this, I'll have to use drugs on you." Élise threatened, though she had never done that before. _There's always a first time._ She thought, looking down at Arno, who was now sobbing quietly.

"Knock yourself out, I don't care!" He replied, raising his head up and looking at her with an angry gaze.

"You really don't give up, huh?" She asked, surprised that someone could endure the much torture she had gave him the entire past hour. Élise then walked away from him, trotting to the iron door. She opened it with her key, and then stepped outside.

"Hook, Harvey!" She shouted impatiently, as the two heavy weight thugs from before came into the room, and she nodded at them. She observed them as Hook kneeled behind Arno and pulled out a small dagger, cutting his wrists free. Arno immediately massaged his wrists, discretely cutting a piece of his cloth with his bare hand and putting it on his wrists.

Harvey didn't notice that, but Élise did, but she didn't do nothing, it was something painless.

Hook then stood up and placed his hand on Arno's shoulder, nodding for Harvey to do the same as he forced Arno to stand up painfully. Harvey then repeated Hook's actions, and Arno played along. _Live by the Creed, Die by the Creed._ Arno thought, although he had never really took such words seriously, now he seemed like the opportune moment.

With a yell, he jammed his head against Hook's forehead, making the thug fall on the ground, unconscious, some blood dripping from his new wound. Taken aback by surprise, Harvey tried to hit Arno with his clenched fist, but the movement was so slow and clumsy, even the wounded Arno managed to dodge it. Arno then grabbed Harvey's neck and threw him against the wooden chair he was earlier, breaking it and rendering the thug unconscious.

Élise had watched all of this in horror or surprise, she didn't really know how she was feeling about it. Arno then turned to face her, surprised with himself that he managed to beat up two thugs after being through an entire hour of torture. Arno kneeled to pick up Harvey's sword and clumsily held it at her direction, the pains of the torture troubling his bones and body.

"Merde..." Élise muttered under the breath, getting her pistol and aiming it at Arno. "Put that sword down." She demanded, aiming the pistol at his head.

"Only when you put the pistol down, mademoiselle." He replied, struggling to force a smile.

Élise angrily kicked the ground, before shooting on Arno's direction with a face of extreme frustration. She missed on purpose, the bullet passing right between Arno's ear and shoulder. _She does have a fiery temper._ Arno thought, before touching his shoulder, still being relived that she "missed".

"Put. The. Sword. DOWN!" She yelled, reloading the pistol, now with no intention to miss the next shot. Arno then carefully lowered himself and placed the sword on the ground, before standing up and placing both of his hands in the air, struggling to do so.

"You got me..." He said, as the iron door was suddenly opened and four men entered. Arno noticed that they wore different suits than the ones wore by Hook and Harvey. _Templars, scumbags._ Arno thought, muttering some French curse under his breath.

"Mademoiselle Germain." One of the Templars started, sheating his sword on his belt and hurriedly going before Élise.

_What the..._ Arno thought, was that François-Thomas Germain fellow related to her?

"We're under attack, Mademoiselle!" The other one completed, probably either scared or frustrated. "The Assassins, they have found us! That asshole there probably left a clue for them in case things got rough, he..." The Templar continued, breathing heavily.

"Defend the entrance, bring the prisoner to the main headquarters." She simply ordered, pointing at Arno. When she turned around to look at him, he wasn't there anymore.

_Fucking Assassin!_

* * *

"Go, go, go!" Bellec ordered, pushing the four Assassins to the corridor full of stunned Templars. He threw another smoke bomb to ensure they hadn't time to shoot at the new apprentices. He observed as each Assassin sliced each of the Templars' throats, and as the smoke dissipated, the bodies of their enemies dropped dead on the floor, their hands on their bleeding throats.

Olivier, Jacques and André then appeared near Bellec, looking at the novices and their targets' bleeding corpses. "Those novices are excessively good for... novices." Jacques stated, looking impressed at the quickness of the new additions to their Brotherhood.

"You'd make a horrible teacher, Pisspot." Bellec remarked, pointing at a grey-coated novice on the stairs. "That one has a cut on his shoulder and is bleeding heavily." He said, moving his finger to a red-coated one. "That one's broken his hidden blade while killing that big Templar." He said, then pointing his fingers at a final white-coated novice. "I don't see any trouble with that one... Oh wait, he hasn't reloaded his Phantom Blade, and it is the first model, which means there is the necessity of reloading it after one shot. That kind of ignorance can get you killed." He then completed, finally turning to face the three Assassins. "Have you fellows found him?"

"No, maybe the Templars have moved him someplace else." Olivier suggested, cleaning the blood on his hidden blade.

"Or maybe you three are just blind enough not to find him!" Bellec yelled, crossing his arms. "Search again, and kill any Templars you see on your way."

"But Bellec..." André started, but was cut off by the Master Assassin.

"No buts! Find Arno, I'll go kill the rest of the Templars in the meantime." Bellec said, climbing down the stairs where the novices were observing their targets' bodies. "You, reload your Phantom Blade." He said as he pointed his index finger at the white-coat one. "You, discard that blade, it's useless now." He said as he pointed to the red-coat one. "And you, bandage that wound!" He said as he pointed at the grey-coat one.

Jacques, Olivier and André observed as Bellec and the novices eagerly furthered down the stairs, and they heard the sounds of steel against steel and shots of pistols and rifles.

"Best we go looking for him." Jacques suggested, as he opened a door to one of the offices. The trio entered it, and then saw the door to another corridor being clumsily opened and a struggling figure got out from it.

"Merde, get your weapons!" André shouted, pulling out his pistol of multiple barrels.

They all grabbed their pistols and pointed it at the figure, who gave them a hilarious look of surprise and placed his hands on the air. The trio then laughed uncontrollably, recognizing the figure as Arno.

"That's not funny." Arno said, removing his hands from the air.

"Yes it is!" Jacques said louder than he intended to.

"Seems we have found who we've been looking for, let's go." Olivier said as he holstered his pistol, seeing that Arno was struggling to stay on his feet. "They gave you quite the beating didn't they?" He mocked, gazing Arno up and down repeatedly.

"Shut up, and let's go!" Arno replied, placing his hand on his stomach, his whole belly was blood red.

"Poor Arno..." Jacques said, before helping him to exit the room. "Bellec, we've found him!" Jacques shouted, hoping to see Bellec coming from the stairs. "Sorry Arno, gotta get him!" He said as he sat down Arno on a chair, before going after Bellec.

He climbed down the stairs and found Bellec and the rest of the novices climbing up, their clothes covered in blood, two of the novices with some medium wounds. "Have you found him, Pisspot?" Bellec asked, as the novices passed him and Jacques.

"Yeah, we did." Jacques said, turning and pointing at Arno. "But they've beaten him up quite badly." He completed, forcing a smile.

"Not a problem for Arno," Bellec replied, walking off. "Let's go, we've got all we need." He completed, nodding for Olivier, André and Arno to follow him.

"Nice to see you too!" Arno said, looking at Bellec. Bellec simply ignored him, and they all walked off the fortress.

"So, what's this place?" Arno asked, observing the strange paintings on the walls.

"We should be the ones asking, you've been here for days!" Olivier replied.

"What, are you insinuating I've joined the Templars?" Arno asked, indignant.

"No, though I had suspected a little bit." Olivier simply replied. "Well anyway, this is the Hôtel Voysin, we found it after interrogating one of the Templars at Grignon's former brothel in la Cour des Miracles."

"I guess you followed the lead then?" Arno asked, remembering the paper he had left in his desk just in case things got rough.

"Yup, you'd probably dead if it wasn't for us." Jacques intervened, smiling proudly.

They all exited the Hôtel and blended with the crowd, Jacques and André helping Arno on his feet.

* * *

_June 17, 1789_

It had been a month since Arno had been freed from the Templars in the Hôtel Voysin, and it took sometime for him to recover from his injuries. He was still intrigued by the Germain girl from the torture, spending most of his days investigating her and her supposed father or relative.

Of course, he had to endure the usual lectures that the Master Assassins gave him for not telling them of his own agenda, but he was probably already forgiven.

Today, he had headed for the city hall and sneaked into the documents room, searching for this Germain Family. It took some time to find their registers, but he finally did after almost losing the patience needed. It was in a book, strange for a family register, a single family's.

He opened it at the most recent page, and found that the François-Thomas Germain from the graveyard was the son of Thomas and Anne-Denise Germain, and that their family was a distinguished family of silversmiths, most being the personal silversmiths of the king himself. He saw that François-Thomas had been listed dead in 1788, and with no sons or daughters. He also noticed that there was a small message, saying that François-Thomas had lost the rank of royal silversmith due to using his title and influence to pay off his debts illegally and supposedly also aiding some secret societies.

_Secret societies, obviously the Templars._ Arno thought as he read the message, and was surprised to see that Germain had no sons or daughters.

_Maybe he took her from another family? No, maybe he had her after his supposed death? Ah stupid Arno..._ Arno thought, but discarded the last possibility since if Germain had Élise after his supposed death, she would still be a baby.

_This is very strange..._ Arno thought as he closed the book and placed it on a bag he had brought, escaping the hall and going back to the Café-Théâtre.


	5. Start of a Revolution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)

_July 12, 1789_

Arno took the newspaper from it's wooden box, the selling woman shouting the news. He then walked off, soon followed by the other persons who took it as well.

_Riots increase, protesters gather outside the Bastille demanding gunpowder and weapons. The Marquis de Launay refuses, and an attack on the tyrannical fortress is expected. Former guard Pierre-Augustin Hulin agitates the people against de Launay's men, saying that the royal absolutism is fading. The infamous Marquis de Sade is transferred from the Bastille to a safer prison, and only seven prisoners remain there now. Jacques Necker is dismissed by the King after he shows_ _incompetence in counting the King's fortune._

"De Launay is an idiot..." Arno muttered under his breath, walking to the Assassin Sanctuary. _He is a Templar, an old supporter of De la Serre, always having quarrels with his former Grand-Master. And now he will get himself killed._ He thought, remembering that de Launay had participated in one of De la Serre's parties, alongside the provost, Jacques de Flesselles. De Flesselles seemed to be smarter than de Launay, but both of them were not very liked by the population.

Arno was preparing himself to climb down the stairs to the Sanctuary, but then he saw something that got his attention. Three men clad in red tunics approached a nobleman's carriage, probably of a noble couple that exited the Café-Théâtre.

The three thugs made the coachman stop the carriage, demanding their attention. "Get off the way, peasants!" The coachman angrily shouted, but all he ever received as a reply was a musket shot to the face. The crowd around the scene quickly formed, as the nobleman and his wife were forced out of the carriage. Arno tried to do something, but the crowd were all with pikes and swords, ready to massacre the nobles.

"Fucking peasants, get off me!" The nobleman yelled as he was punched in the nose by the thugs. _Don't these idiots know that they are in no position to argue during this time?_ Arno thought, watching as five men joined the thugs and drew out their knives, repeatedly stabbing the nobleman, as blood went up and down. Finally, it seemed as if they reached their objective, since the brutal stabbing ceased now.

The poor man's head was placed on a pike and most of the crowd followed the brute carrying it through the streets.

The few peasants that stayed near the broken and shot carriage turned their attention to the nobleman's wife, who was staring with a shocked gaze at her husband's headless body on the cold dirty ground. "We're gonna have some fun with ya." The first peasant said, as he approached the woman, looking at her stomach and it's upper parts.

"Oh don't you peasants dare to touch me!" She warned, trying to walk off.

"Don't you see, whore, that you're in no position to argue?" The other man said as he unsheathed his knife and cut her dress and corset, revealing her round and perky breasts. He then started to walk towards her, with a devilish look on his face, while the poor woman was terrified by them.

"What a lovely one..." A peasant from behind her said, slapping her ass with his dirty hand. "I might just take you for myself, you know. Settle down, have some kids, fuck you every day." He said as he took her chin in his hands.

"Only after me, boy." The older peasant said as he ran the other one's throat through with a dagger, now pointing it at her. "I like my meat rare, lady. And I don't like to share it, it's all for me!" He said as he pushed her to the dirty stone ground, kneeling before her and grabbing her breasts.

That was something Arno could not allow.

He approached the rapist and forced him to look at him, taking his chin between his gloved hands and punching the man's nose with a clenched fist. He then threw the man's body away, who was having difficulty in standing up.

"Don't you know how to respect a woman, friend?" Arno asked, approaching him.

"You should have kept to your own business, boy!" The man angrily said, before grabbing his bloody dagger from his ragged coat and running at Arno, yelling several curses and taunts while doing so.

Arno then extended his arm and aimed his Phantom Blade at the frenzied man, the crossbow-like weapon firing a deadly sharp dart, striking through the man's stomach but falling out. The man looked shocked to Arno, trying to figure out what hit him, before placing his hands on his bleeding stomach, not seeing the dart on the ground near him.

"What... what sorcery is this?!" The rapist desperately asked, still shocked. He allowed himself to fall to the ground, though he was still very much alive. Arno walked towards him and stood before him.

"Something you're not expecting can't be called sorcery, mon ami." Arno simply replied before lowering himself to be near the bleeding man.

"You take my life for no purpose!" The man shouted indignant, spitting blood on the ground.

"No purpose? Why, you and your partner there approached a noblewoman," Arno said as he pointed to the rapist's deceased partner, killed by his own friend. "He goes throwing himself on the woman, and you kill him because you want her only for you?"

"Huh, she was pretty, I could have some fun with her." The man simply replied.

"Do women for you are only a means of pleasure?" Arno asked, observing the woman grabbing the rags that once were the top of her dress to cover her breasts.

"Of course not! Well, some of them actually are, because they serve for nothing more than wasting money on themselves and ignoring people like us!"

"What she and her kind did was wrong, but you don't have the right to rape her because of that."

The man laughed in response, spitting blood at the same time. "You nobles and rich men are all the same! You kill, arrest and torture peasants and miserable men like me when we treat unfairly a bitch! But when your beloved guards spot a peasant woman stealing something, they proceed to rape and kill her!" The man said indignant, almost shouting the last words.

"You're no better than them."

"Oh but I am! I attack and pleasure myself with the right kind of whores, the ones who ignore people like me and spend all their gold and silver on lavish useless parties and dresses! While your kind attacks and rapes women who only do what they do because they have to, and they don't harm anyone in the process, stealing a single livre is nothing compared to starving innocent folks!"

Arno couldn't find the right answer, the man had a little point, but he was still opposed to what the man did.

"Ha! I see you have no answer, well, you're next! People like me will eventually rise against the King and the nobility, and France shall be a fair and merry place, not the misery we have today!" The man yelled as he breathed his last, his head falling on the stone cold ground.

Arno then closed the man's eyes, muttering a 'Repose en Paix' to the peasant's corpse, before standing up and walking off the scene.

No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn't take the man's words off his mind.

* * *

Élise walked through the muddy and dark streets of Le Marais, the district in the northern Paris. During these bloody and days the district was filled with revolts and murder, especially because of the nasty situation that was about to escalate into a battlefield on the Bastille prison, where the Marquis de Launay was still stupidly refusing to accept the protesters' demands.

Just in a simple walk, she saw a noble being murdered and lynched, clerics being beaten down by angry protesters and a building being ransacked by thugs, taking profit of the unstable situation of the city to rob and steal for themselves. Ironically, part of this had been caused by her own allies, who sought to start a bloody and chaotic revolution in order to tear down the monarchy and form a republic where they could more easily control it.

She finally reached her destination, a two-story house, fortunately left untouched by the revolutionary extremists that had ransacked the nearby houses. She walked towards the door and pulled out the key, unlocking the door and entering the house. It was a simple house, without any lavish pictures, furniture or porcelain, unlike most of the nobles that were being attacked by the protesters.

"Élise, dear!" A middle-aged man with a British accent said from his chair, dropping the book he was reading and the pistol on his other hand on a nearby table, standing up to look at the red-headed woman.

"Hello, Mr. Weatherall." Élise greeted, hugging the middle-aged man, before both of them pulled away and sat on two different chairs.

"What brings you here, child?" Weatherall asked, picking up two cups of tea from the small table and offering one of them to her. "Tea?"

"No, thank you." Élise quickly responded, gently shrugging him off with her arm. "The situation in here is getting nastier by the day, isn't it?"

"Unfortunately, but François-Thomas seems to think that it's necessary." Weatherall replied, taking a little gulp of his tea.

"I wish there was another way..."

"There's always another way, child."

"Then why don't we take it? Look at the mess in the streets, people killing people, ransacking houses. And it is only the beginning..."

"I have no say in the matter, Élise, though I wish bloodshed could be avoided."

"But to tear down the monarchy, a revolution is needed."

"That is something that can't be argued with, especially now."

"Yes, but a moderate revolution can remove the King, we don't need such bloodshed."

"As I said earlier, I have no say in the matter. I'm not even an official member of the Paris Rite, I'm just an old retired member of the British Rite."

"Yes, Mr. Weatherall, but I have. I'm the Grand-Master's daughter, but my father won't hear it!"

Weatherall sighed and looked to the ground with an apparent saddened face when he heard the claim 'I'm the Grand-Master's daughter!'

"What is it?" Élise asked, noticing his expression.

"Nothing, child."

"Alright then. Well, back to the real matter, my father is making some bad decisions from my point of view. He always taught me that sacrifices were needed every time, but I don't agree with his future plans."

"Oh Élise, there's no need to tell me of them, I don't want to know. There's enough trouble on this old soul here..."

"There's no problem.." Élise replied. "It's just... he's planning on putting men like Marat, Fouquier-Tinville, Saint-Just and Robespierre on charge..."

"Well, from what I heard of some of these men, they're actually good folks."

"It's just a facade, when they rise to power, power shall dominate them. That's my fear, I fear men like Robespierre who are good now, will betray us when they rise to power."

"I don't think they would have the guts to do so..."

"That's the same thing some of our followers told us when we showed them the plans to remove the King."

"You have a point, but the Order is stronger than any King out there."

"That's right, but right now we're struggling to get rid of the Assassins."

"Oh the Assassins, Franço..." Weatherall suddenly stopped, but then continued. "The old Grand-Master had a truce with them, didn't he?"

Not caring much about the sudden stop, Élise continued. "Yes he did, but father said it was unstable and impossible."

"Well, he was ambitious to try that, and he maybe would have succeeded. But I hardly believe he would."

Élise then reclined against her chair, her thoughts traveling to the day in June where the Hôtel Voysin was attacked by the Assassins, seeking to free that Assassin, she thought his name was Arno... _How can I even remember his name, well unless..._

"Something troubling your mind, child?" Weatherall asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Oh no, just thinking about the future."

Weatherall then finally finished his tea, standing up and preparing to go upstairs. "If you don't mind, I'll have some rest." Weatherall said, instantly receiving a worried look from Élise. "Don't worry, I've got a new recruit watching over for any thugs."

"Alright then, I suppose you deserve it."

Weatherall then retreated upstairs, while Élise left the house. As he entered his bedroom, he opened a chest and took a letter out of it. It pained to keep this letter and a relationship with a certain person a secret from Élise. But otherwise, François-Thomas Germain would have his head if he revealed that to Élise.

Probably for the thousandth time, he read the letter again, as the tears formed in his face and he got laid on the bed to finally sleep.

* * *

_July 13, 1789_

_Paris_

Arno approached the entrance of the Assassin Sanctuary, seeing the novice guarding the door.

"Hello, Jean." Arno greeted, smiling at him and continuing his walk.

"Oh, hello Monsieur Arno!" Jean greeted shyly, surprised to see Arno walking in front of him.

_Ugh, why does he have to call me like that? It's like he is obsessed with me, but I am no role model for novices..._ Arno thought, thinking if he should tell Jean to stop calling him a 'Monsieur' but he decided to keep it quiet. He opened the iron gate to the Sanctuary, and as usual there were people arguing there and there again. It seemed de Launay continued to refuse the demands, and that an attack on the Bastille was already imminent.

He continued walking, heading to Pierre Bellec's desk. But he found Bellec instead talking with the rest of the council, with a few other high-ranking Assassins participating in the discussion.

"King Louis has gone too far now!" Bellec exclaimed, placing his hands on the map of Paris in the table. "Has he not taken not take knowledge of the recent events, that he keeps starving the people?!"

"And then there's de Launay..." Master Hervé Quemar joined. "If he keeps on doing his nonsense, I'm afraid he'll be headless as of tomorrow."

"We should contribute to that, the bastard is a Templar!" Bellec said, listening to the quiet nods he got from the fellow Assassins.

"An old supporter of de la Serre, thought he was always a pain." Mirabeau replied, seeming to finally start to agree with Bellec.

"He might have been, but de Launay is doing awful acts! In response for the aggressive behavior of the protesters, he had his men burn down two of the nearby buildings!" Bellec argued, walking around the table.

"The fall of the Bastille should probably steer a revolution and scare the King into sense, and then we can work to achieve a peaceful ending for the revolution." Mirabeau explained, though Bellec sighed in response, still convinced that it was impossible to bring the revolution to a peaceful ending.

"The crowd of protesters are already arming themselves with pikes, knives, axes and other improvised weapons such as pickaxes and pitchforks, according to my informants." Master Guillaume Beylier warned, being taciturn as always.

"But they don't have any rifles or pistols..." Bellec lamented.

"Unfortunately, that's one of the main reasons they're assaulting the Bastille." Beylier replied.

Arno then stepped in, looking at Bellec, who instantly noticed him. "Finally here, pisspot?" Bellec mocked, looking at him.

"I guess I am, what are we planning now?" Arno asked.

"De Launay and the Bastille's days are over, Arno, we are to assault it." Bellec quickly replied.

"With the help of the people." Mirabeau quickly corrected as well.

"Yes, Mirabeau, but there's a problem I noticed." Quemar said, approaching the map that detailed the Le Marais district, he pointed to the drawbridge that was the entrance to the prison courtyard. "The drawbridge. The crowd will never be able to break it."

"Indeed." Mirabeau agreed.

"I have an idea. Only two of us could climb it silently without attracting the guards' attention and cut the chains down, liberating the bridge!" Arno suggested.

"Good idea, Pisspot. For once!" Bellec agreed and joked.

"It is indeed." Mirabeau agreed. "Alright, here's what we are going to do. I'm only sending four Assassins to the battle, we can't risk losing more, the Templars are already stalking us like dogs. Jacques, André, Arno and Olivier are going to be the four, and you all shall work in team to get rid of the threats to the crowd, firstly cutting down the drawbridge and then eliminating the snipers."

"Yes, Mentor." Each of them said.

"Good, now go prepare yourself."

* * *

_July 14, 1789_

The day had finally arrived.

Arno, Olivier, Jacques and André left the Sanctuary, each of them ready to the upcoming battle. Arno had dressed in his usual blue coat, with his best sword and pistol. Olivier with his green coat and sword, Jacques with his brown grey clothes and his big axe while André had come with his cream coat. They were all ready to assault the Bastille and destroy a symbol of oppression.

They were traversing the rooftops of the Le Marais district, observing the enormous and violent crowd of armed protesters running to the Bastille. They were all armed with pikes, spears, knives and all swords of improvised weapons. Like many before said, "When the revolution knocks at your door, anything is a weapon."

De Launay's soldiers were also numerous, but the crowd of soldiers was thin compared to the revolutionaries crowd. They however, carried deadly rifles and muskets, guarding the Bastille in organized positions and posts.

Arno observed as a curious Eagle flew through the crowd, observing the revolutionaries and royalists. He and the three others stopped atop a wooden shady and smoky platform in a rooftop to observe a part of the street that was filled with corpses, as the few surviving men of the part were mercilessly shot down by a volley of musket shots from the guards in the other side.

The crowd of revolutionaries had suddenly stopped after the violent and genocidal musket volley, the men in the front hidden behind an improvised pile of crates, barrels and various other furniture items. They seemed reluctant to continue, scared by the musketeers. It was then that Pierre-Augustin Hulin rose from the crowd and climbed into the pile of crates.

"People! Here and now we have the chance to end a fortress of oppression and royal absolutism, whose gunpowder and arms shall feed our needs against the King himself and his puppets! We can't give up, not when we have gone this far against de Launay and his dogs! The cowards hide behind stone walls, shooting intruders with their muskets, aware that their enemies don't have such weapons. This changes today, rise, and we shall end the lives of these cowards!" Hulin shouted, regaining his breath after finally finishing his speech.

The revolutionary leader then helped several armed men into the crates, as the rest of the crowd ran against the detachment of armed guards. Not having time to shoot another volley, the guards cowardly ran to the Bastille, several of them abandoning their uniforms and blending with the crowd of revolutionaries. The crowd quickly followed after, motivated by Hulin's speech.

"It's now or never." Arno said to his companions. They all nodded to each other, and with a deep breath, took leaps of faiths off the building, in order to join the assault on the fortress. Cannons were fired from the Bastille's walls, tearing down residences and buildings, the sharp wooden pieces hitting the fearless and merciless crowd, killing some but not enough.

Arno, Olivier, Jacques and André quickly ran across the crowd, pushing away whoever was in their path. Olivier and André ran especially fast, and with a nod from each other, jumped from street to the walls of the Bastille, extending their hidden blades and swiftly tearing down the drawbridge's heavy chains, making the bridge fall and liberating the path for the crowd to enter the prison.

Dozens of soldiers saw the bridge fall to the other side, as the crowd of revolutionaries ran unstoppable through the entrance, shouting battle cries and curses as they did so. The shooters aimed their muskets at the crowd and prepared to shoot, each of them aiming at an specific target. De Launay's lieutenant shouted "Prepare!" to the shooters, as the crowd carelessly ran and entered the courtyard, the ones in the front willing to sacrifice themselves for their country.

"FIRE!" De Launay's lieutenant yelled, as he signaled the men to shoot with his sword. Without a second thought, the soldiers fired their muskets, hitting and killing many of the men of the crowd's front. The musketeers from the top of the walls prepared to shoot, but each of them were surprised by a deadly and swift blade on their throats as the four Assassins infiltrated the fortress.

Arno and the other three Assassins then nodded to each other as they pulled out their useful smoke bombs from their belts, aiming and throwing them perfectly down at the soldiers. The soldiers were shockingly surprised by the smoke, but nothing could stop the revolutionaries as they entered the courtyard and attacked the soldiers. Satisfied with the result, the four Assassins descended into the courtyard and started the killing...

De Launay's lieutenant never knew what blade stroke his throat as Jacques leaped from the wall and pierced his hidden blade onto the soldier's exposed neck, pulling out his big axe as he stood up from the lieutenant's corpse. Arno unsheathed his sword and mercilessly cut down a soldier, soon followed by another, and another and another. A soldier from behind Arno tried to hit him, only to be beheaded by Jacques' axe. At the same time as Arno's sword cut through the flesh of the officer who was about to strike Jacques.

Another soldier tried to attack Arno from behind, only to be tackled again by Jacques to the ground as his throat had a date with Jacques' hidden blade. Arno looked at his friend and nodded in thanks, but then a soldier from behind Jacques approached the Assassin and prepared to pierce his musket's bayonet onto the Assassin's skull. The officer had no luck either, as a Phantom Blade dart stroke down his back.

Both Arno and Jacques looked up to see André smiling at them and closing his Phantom Blade, as they smiled at him and resumed the battle. Olivier looked from the other side to a guard in a window, who then aimed his musket at him. But André quickly pierced his hidden blade on the soldier's chest and threw him off the window. Both of them then leaped to the window, as Olivier made staggering cuts on the guards and André arrived from behind to finish them.

They both then jumped off another window, as André quickly grabbed two smoke bombs and threw them on the courtyard, blinding the guards and giving them time to flee the scene and hide.

De Launay looked shocked to the smoke involving he and his soldiers, trying to understand what was going on. Each of the confused and staggered guards met a cruel end as Olivier and André sliced each of their throats, Olivier pulling out his multiple barreled pistol as the smoke dissipated. While André was busy finishing a guard, Olivier mercilessly shot down the four others.

The only ones that remained now were de Launay and his two soldiers. Olivier and André walked around them, cornering them on a pile of nearby gunpowder leaked barrels. De Launay received a torch from his companion, looking at the Assassins and threatening to put the torch on the gunpowder, an explosion which would probably render the prison and the nearby buildings to pieces.

De Launay probably also didn't expected to see his two companions getting air assassinated by Arno and Jacques, the former who quickly stood up and prepared to slice de Launay's throat. _His life isn't mine to take._ Arno thought as he aimed his hidden blade to the ground, away from de Launay's throat. He then quickly destroyed the torch's fire with his other hand, before simply walking off and nodding for the others to follow.

Arno, Jacques, Olivier and André then swiftly ran off the scene and climbed to the safety of the walls. It was then that the now closed gate to the fortress was suddenly kicked down by Hulin and his men, who then proceeded to surround a shocked de Launay, all of them armed with muskets and other weapons. De Launay looked terrified as the first revolutionary leaped into him, then a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth and many others. His screams could be heard from a distance as the revolutionaries pulled out their daggers and mercilessly stabbed and stabbed the marquis.

Finally a brutish butcher appeared and with his cruel axe, beheaded de Launay, ending the man's screams. Another brute appeared with a large iron pike, placing de Launay's head on it and leaving with a crowd behind him. Parading the man's head across the street, the Bastille was no more.

While all of this happened, the four Assassins stood on the rail of the walls, as they took a leap of faith and fell down onto the river.

* * *

_July 16, 1789_

_Paris_

King Louis XVI could not believe it.

The Bastille was no more, the rebels had now arms and gunpowder, and the situation now was more dangerous than ever. Probably for the first time in his easy life, the King took off the newspaper from his desk and started to read it.

_The Prison of the Bastille is no more! Now the people have weapons and gunpowder, enough to raise an army. The Marquis de Launay and the provost Jacques de Flesselles are now dead, two supporters of the Royal tyranny! With the arms we acquired, we are going to use it to make justice against the greedy nobility and the idiot king. With de Launay and de Flesselles dead, you are next, Louis XVI!_

"Have those animals dominated the press too now?" Louis asked himself, though he was actually terrified.

His secretary came into the King's office, in a fast pace, before bending before him and approaching him.

"My lord! Have you any knowledge of what happened?" The secretary asked.

"Of course I do!" King Louis replied rudely. "How could these animals... we have already endured many revolts! This one will be no different!" Louis arrogantly claimed, though deep down, he was scared as hell.

"Sir, I'm afraid this is no revolt." The secretary replied.

"Then what is it?" King Louis asked impatiently.

"My King, It's a Revolution." The secretary replied nervously.


	6. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Assassin's Creed: Unity's story, with different plot but same and new characters! Arno Dorian and his friends of the Assassin Brotherhood must investigate and stop a Templar conspiracy which ranges from controlling France to associating themselves with Juno. In the process, Arno meets a Templar, Élise de la Serre. (Intense Arno/Élise)

_January 7, 1791_

Arno walked from his bedroom's door in the villa near the Café-Théâtre, walking through his personal roof garden. Even though this particular stop was green and pretty, it was different from the confusion down on the streets. He went to the balcony and placed his hands on the rail, reclining against it. The street down was a total mess, he observed peasants carrying golden or silver objects of the church, individuals being beaten and people carrying the bodies of noblemen through the streets.

The city was in chaos.

Almost two years had passed since the fall of the Bastille, since the murder of François de la Serre in Versailles and since the true outbreak of the revolution. The French Brotherhood and the Parisian Rite were still on war, this time more than ever. There were aristocrats and nobles in both sides of the conflict, and both sides were taking profit of the revolution to eliminate those aristocrats and nobles with the helps of the revolutionaries.

Not to mention that they were struggling to destroy the rule of le Roi des Thunes in the Cour des Miracles, having already proof that he was a Templar. He and several other Assassins had spent the recent days eliminating brothel owners, hitmen, important thugs and associates of le Roi des Thunes, trying to weaken his rule on the district. Today he and Jacques, Olivier and André were preparing to eliminate the new owner of François-Joseph de Grignon's former brothel, a mysterious and unscrupulous man named Alphonse-Charles Belmont, known to be brutal and impose horrid working conditions to the whores under his command.

Belmont's brothel, the Maison de Plaisance, located on the south-east section of la Cour des Miracles, was even more guarded than when it was under Grignon. There were guards everywhere, guarding every nook and cranny of the building, carrying menacing muskets, swords, pikes and axes.

They had to plan their attack carefully, and today they were to meet on a pub on the Marais district, where some time ago they helped overthrow de Launay and the Bastille. Arno and the others knew that it wouldn't be safe to meet on a place in la Cour des Miracles, due to le Roi des Thunes' enforcers already knowing their clothes and weapons, so they had to meet somewhere nearby.

Looking from the balcony, he sighed when he recognized his colleague, Charlotte Corday, walking through the streets. He hadn't seen her for some time, not that he cared anyway, she was the most annoying companion he ever had. Recently, she had been reprimanded by the Council members for doing various assassinations on known people without their consent, but she didn't seem to care.

Arno removed himself from the rail, he had to put his mind on the task at hand, going to a pub known as lumière blanche or something in le Marais. He received word from Jacques that André had found something useful, that might help them take down Belmont and his thugs. He was wearing only his casual clothes, a white shirt with a black waistcoat and dark trousers. He moved to his room and took his favorite usual blue coat, putting it on and arming himself with his wrist blade and the other weapons.

As he finished preparing himself for the day ahead, he exited his room and went down the stairs. Nodding to the only non-Assassin person in the Café that knew of his allegiance to the Assassin Brotherhood (or so he hoped) as he prepared to leave the building.

"Is there anything you need me to do while... while you're absent?" Charlotte Gouze, the manager, asked.

"I don't think so..." Arno replied, looking at each side of the Café's four walls in order to see if everything was alright, he then remembered the meeting Mirabeau had told him of with an old supporter of de la Serre, Chrétien Lafrenière. "Oh, there is something indeed. A few days from now, Monsieur Mirabeau and an acquaintance of his will be here, that particular spot there is for them." He said as he pointed to a secluded spot near the counter.

"Right, Monsieur Dorian." Gouze quickly replied, as she went to the counter to continue on the business.

Arno smiled to himself, then walked off the place in fast pace.

* * *

As he arrived at his destination, a pub in the Marais district of Paris, Arno observed the street and the place for any potential threats. Word was that there was a mole within the Brotherhood, giving information to the radical faction of the Templars. They couldn't be too careful, especially in these bloody days, where Templars were not the only threat.

Satisfied that there was no interference, Arno entered the pub, instantly seeing the "usual" things that one would see in the pub. He noticed Olivier and André sitting on a secluded table, drinking something quietly while talking to each other. As he walked to the table, he had to dodge drunks walking around clumsily, whores offering their "services" and all the other messed up things.

Upon seeing his blue-coated companion, Olivier let out a sigh of relief. "Finally here! Where's Jacques?" Olivier greeted and asked, scanning the place for Jacques, not finding him much to his chagrin.

"No idea, he's always late on these meetings." Arno replied, pulling a chair off the table and sitting on it. "So, you two found something valuable about le Roi des Thunes?" Arno asked, lowering his tone. He nodded for the bartender to come. "Some light beer." He whispered to the bartender, who hurriedly left.

"Yeah, André here found something valuable about one of his main lieutenants." Olivier explained, reclining against his chair and crossing his arms.

"La Touche?" Arno asked.

"No, that one's hard. The owner of that big and lavish brothel we assaulted back in 89, Alphonse-Charles Belmont." André explained.

"Oh, Belmont, of course."

"Yeah, he, I've found out that he has an older brother. Name's Louis-Robert Belmont, the Chevalier de Barrois." André started, playing with a short dagger on the table. "He lives on a big Hôtel particulier on this same district, name's Hôtel de Sully."

"How does that help us?" Arno asked.

"I've investigated further and the other residents of the Hôtel de Sully were gossiping about a strange individual similar to le Chevalier de Barrois who dressed in fine clothes but reeked of whores and drinks. So basically, I'm guessing that Belmont flees to this Hôtel when he's in danger."

"Well, this 'individual dressed in fine clothes but reeking of whores and drinks' could be the Marquis de Sade, our little friend." Olivier suggested.

"If he was de Sade, I think the nobles would know, and from what I've heard from that man, he's dressed happily as a king of whores." André said.

"You're right, knowing this, we should strike Belmont tonight. If the prick escapes us, we know where to find him." Olivier said, agreeing with André.

"While you've been investigating his escape routes, I've investigated the brothel itself." Arno said, as he pulled the bag he had left next to the chair, producing a paper from it. A map of the Brothel. Arno placed it upon the table, where the guards were marked with red dots. "Belmont's smarter than Grignon, he has closed every single window in the upper floors and there are guards everywhere." Arno explained, he then pointed his finger to a golden dot on the upper floors. "Belmont secludes himself within his personal office, in the tallest floor, surrounded by guards."

"We need to formulate..." Olivier started but was interrupted by a newcomer. "Hello guys!" Jacques happily greeted as he clumsily sat on a chair next to Arno. "So what's the plan?"

"We're going to formulate it now." Arno said, while André handed Jacques a little map detailing the way from the brothel to the Hôtel de Sully, as Arno then showed the map of the brothel. "Belmont lives in the upper parts of the brothel, and as you can see here, he is surrounded by guards. André here found out that if he tries to escape, he'll head to his brother's residence, the Hôtel de Sully." Arno explained while Jacques nodded.

"I've received word from Mirabeau that he's sent two lower-ranked Assassins to help us siege the brothel, and that we need to treat them 'fairly'." Olivier said.

His words were met with a "bruh" from all the other Assassins on the table, making Olivier chuckle.

"Yeah, I know, but we can't do nothing about it." Olivier said.

"Unfortunately." Jacques said.

"We shouldn't cry for spilled milk, let's formulate a plan to assassinate Belmont." Arno suggested, placing both his hands on the table and examining the maps and documents brought by each of them. "Here, there are snipers everywhere, we won't be able to enter the brothel through the rooftops, I doubt we can even eliminate the snipers, there are so many of them."

"Agreed, we'll have to do a direct assault, but we need to plan it tactically first." André said. "Arno and Jacques are obviously the best in close combat, and don't argue over that again!" He said, looking at Olivier, who only frowned in response, André chuckled. "They can go through the front door, and the guards in the first floor will have their attention on them, meanwhile, me and Olivier can enter through the window on the other side and we can quickly dispatch the guards."

"And then we work together to fight our way to Belmont's office." Arno completed, looking at the brothel's map.

"Yes, and the two other Assassins shall help us with it." André replied, standing up, preparing to leave to the appointed direction. "Speaking of which, where are they?"

"Mirabeau said that we would meet at de Sade's villa." Olivier said with a sigh.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Jacques said, not even wanting to think of that man.

"No way we're going to that wretch's home!" André said. "Why there? Is he going to help us? I sincerely don't know in what aspects he could aid us, other than teaching us how to pleasure ourselves in _his_ way."

"Boy, that would be quite a lesson." A voice from behind said. All of the Assassins there immediately fixed their gazes on the figure approaching them, a man in his late thirties with a ragged noble coat which were showing his stomach and legs. "Is anyone here interested?"

The Marquis de Sade.

Though he was still surprised that the infamous figure was here, Jacques maintained his calm and took profit of the situation to joke on someone. "I bet Olivier there would love it, he's been absent on most of the nightly missions, probably too busy fucking Quemar's daughter." Jacques said without regretting it, smirking like a clown and chuckling lightly.

Olivier just couldn't take it anymore, couldn't endure it. Jacques had been teasing and humiliating him about the 'incident' every single and damn time he got he chance, and it was, already made Olivier crazy. "Jacques, I'm sure we'll find a fine substitute for you!" Olivier said loudly as he pushed Jacques' chair off, making him fall and break the chair. Olivier then grabbed a nearby wooden stick and raised it upon Jacques, who was in the ground, the whole tavern watching them.

_The 'hide in plains sight' isn't literal, friends!_ Arno thought as he and André quickly walked to Olivier and restrained him from hitting Jacques. "Get off me!" Olivier said, trying to break free.

The Marquis de Sade then stood in front of Olivier, examining him. "Oh, boy. Why are you so angry that someone told you slept with a woman? Was she pretty?" De Sade asked, walking in circles around Olivier.

Abandoning his former angered and furious face, Olivier simply blushed. "I'll take that as a 'yes', you should be proud!" De Sade said, tapping Olivier's back, as Arno and André released their companion and Jacques got up. Before Jacques could even start, Arno muttered a "shut up" to him before he made the situation worse. De Sade then turned his attention to the other three Assassins. "Your two younger friends have already reached my villa, since I won't be in the mood to be a host, I've already sent them over Alphonse's brothel, au revoir." De Sade said as he made his way out.

"Not in the mood, huh?" André questioned, though de Sade didn't hear it since he was already out.

"His mood is probably determined if there are women or not in his villa." Jacques joked, looking around.

"Imagine if Mademoiselle Corday was with us..." Arno said, smiling at the thought of de Sade seeing her.

"You'd love that wouldn't you?" Jacques joked. "If you want to get rid of that annoying soul, just ki.."

"Jacques, shut up." Arno simply said.

"As you say, oh Master Dorian!" Jacques replied playfully.

"You're looking like Jean." Arno said, as the four Assassins made their way out.

"The young brat that treats you like you're God?" Jacques asked.

"Pretty much." Arno replied.

"Speaking of Jean, he's one of the two Assassins that will help us."

"Nom de dieu!" Arno yelled, suddenly scared by the thought of having Jean with him on an important mission.

"What? Won't you like having that guy on the same mission as you? He'd probably slice his own throat if you asked him." André calmly said.

"Diable..." Arno muttered to himself.

"I heard that." Olivier said.

"Fuck you, Olivier." Arno swore.

"Sorry, didn't catch that." Olivier playfully replied.

"Va te faire foutre!" Arno completed, ignoring Olivier.

They all laughed in response.

* * *

_2 hours later._

The now six Assassins had reunited at a roof overlooking Belmont's brothel, snipers everywhere and many guards guarding every entrance to the building. Jean and the other Assassin, Georges, had met there a little while before here. Arno particularly disliked Georges, an arrogant and sure-of-himself fool who was constantly blabbing about his most recent success, the assassination of the Comte de Choisy. _A stupid Templar noble who lived on the most crowded palace one could ever see, who had next to zero guards around he, and who was as arrogant as his killer._ Arno thought.

"Are we ready?" Jean ansiously asked.

"Almost, the plan's here." Olivier said, looking and nodding to Arno.

"Alright, here it is. There are too many snipers on the rooftops and all the windows are closed, which means that we cannot access the brothel from the roof. So we have to do a direct assault, but we need to use our quantity to our advantage. Me and Jacques will enter through the front door and attack immediately, earning the attention of all guards on the hall. Meanwhile, Olivier and André will enter through these windows here and kill our attackers from behind, and we can then quickly finish them. But there are two snipers on this upper platform here." Arno explained and said, pointing to a spot on the counter. "Georges and Jean will infiltrate the brothel through this little opening here." Arno told Georges and Jean, pointing to a little hole on the wall where they could enter. "You two shall take care of the snipers."

"Everyone got it?" André asked.

"Yeah." Jacques replied assuredly.

"Just a little thing, where is the target?" Jean hesitantly asked.

"In the tallest floor, on his personal office, we'l have to fight our way up." Arno answered, looking at the building in front of him.

"So, everyone ready?" Olivier asked, being met with some positive answers.

"Let's go." Arno said, nodding to Jacques. They both graciously and swiftly climbed down the building, and in a few seconds they were on the street. "Let's wait for the others to get in position." Arno muttered to Jacques, as they both hid in some dark bushes near the brothel's door.

"Ergh, Arno..." Jacques hesitantly called, looking to the ground.

"What?" Arno asked, slightly annoyed.

"There's..." Jacques started, but he didn't had to continue. Arno looked down to the ground, where there two sleeping figures, naked to be specific.

"Merde." Arno simply swore as he looked to the whore and her patron. His eyes naturally went to the whore's big breasts, who were dangerously near the man's mouth. "It's a brothel, should... ergh, natural." Arno hesitantly said, trying to keep his composure.

"Yeah." Jacques agreed.

"Wait... I've got an idea!" Arno said. "Let's wake our little friends and up and startle then to run back the brothel, surely going to give us some time." Arno suggested.

"Good idea." Jacques said, looking at the sleeping couple. "Seems Olivier and André are ready, c'mon."

Jacques knew Arno had the reputation of ALWAYS being a gentleman to women, even if they are his worst enemies. So he ignored Arno's hesitant expression and instead slapped the whore's ass and threw some water on the man's head. Both of them awoke instantly, and both ran towards the brothel, earning the attention of dozens of curious gazes.

"Merde, Jacques." Arno said.

"Only way, Arno, only way." Jacques simply replied, as they sprinted inside the brothel.

* * *

Georges and Jean climbed the wooden structure that led to the small opening on the brothel's walls, Georges reaching it first and standing there, looking at the opening. It was small, but they could still go through it. Everything seemed to be calm, the other four older Assassins waiting for them to attack.

And then both of them heard it, the sounds of fighting. Jean peeked at the hole in the wall, seeing Arno and Jacques fighting at least six guards with their sword and axe. _They cannot fight them all!_ Jean thought, before nodding for Georges to come. They were motivated by a familiar and dangerous sound.

_BANG!_

Jean peeked at the hole in the wall, and perfectly saw a guard being shot in the face by André, who along with Olivier had entered from behind and helped killing the guards advancing at Arno and Jacques. The bloodshed was just starting to begin, as the snipers from the platform took aim at the intruders.

"We've got to go now!" Jean yelled at Georges, as he passed through the opening. Georges followed him, and they both approached the two snipers. Jean quickly extended his blade and pierced it on the man's throat, while Georges instead pushed the other down, who fell on the counter, breaking some bottles and bones at the same time.

Arno and Jacques both saw the younger Assassins' actions, and smiled and nodded at them in return. A thug advanced on Arno, who blocked three hits from the man's sword. He then retaliated, his counter attack making the attackers lose balance and fall, as Arno impaled the man with his sword, the thug gurgling blood from his mouth as life left him.

A brute appeared behind Georges, who had climbed down from the platform, Georges noticed the brute's footsteps and quickly turned around to see what had come after him. The brute raised his axe, but was tackled to the ground by Georges, who quickly leaped upon him. Georges then extended his hidden blade and raised his blade arm, digging the iron mechanism into the man's throat.

Jacques was confronted by two thugs, one of them wielding a rapier and the other one with a halberd. Jacques raised his axe in defense, walking backwards.

"Haha, look at him!" The rapier thug mocked, swinging his sword tentatively at Jacques.

"Cowering huh?" The other one continued.

"And he dares call himself an..." The rapier wielding thug tried to continue his mock, but was interrupted by Jacques' deadly axe on his neck, chopping his head off. The head of the thug graciously fell on the ground, a final look of horror on the man's dead gaze. The body fell limp on the ground too, slightly moving before finally "dying" for good.

"Mon dieu, Réginálde!" The halberd wielding thug shouted in horror and disbelief as he watched his companion's lifeless and headless body. He then looked at Jacques, who then mockingly swung his axe around. The thug squeaked in reaction, before dropping his halberd on the ground and running off the scene like a coward. Jacques shook his head in response. _All worms are cowards._ He thought as he took on another thug.

Arno pointed his sabre at the leader of the guards of the lower floor, a man who wore a dark black coat with a red tie and a small top hat. The man unsheated his cavalry sabre, staying on a defensive position. _Skilled one, that one is._ Arno thought as he observed the man's movements. Arno also stayed on defensive stance, ignoring the man's taunts and mocks.

Finally, he was the first to attack. He gave a direct attack on the man's belly, but the leader saw it coming and quickly defended it and swung the sword on Arno's face in response, drawing some blood. In response, he also did a heavy attack on Arno. _His mistake._ Arno thought, as he observed a clumsy movement made by the leader. Arno rolled off, successfully evading the attack, he then reached on his belt and pulled off his pistol.

The last thing the leader saw in his life was the sound of the pistol firing and it's bullet striking him on the forehead, destroying part of his head as the leader's corpse immediately fell on the guard with a thud.

"I guess that's all of them for now." André said as he cleaned his bloodied rapier on a thug's coat, then swinging it around in order to test it's balance. The bloodied corpses of a dozen of men could be seen on the ground as the battle ceased.

"For now, there's more upstairs." Olivier added as his sheathed his sword and walked around, looking at every direction.

"Wonder why they don't send all of them down here already..." Jean said hesitantly as he scanned the area for threats.

"Jean, they're probably..." Arno tried to complement him but was interrupted by Georges' annoying voice.

"They're obviously setting a trap for us on the stairs, jerk!" Georges angrily told Jean, almost yelling in patience.

"Georges, patience." Arno calmly said, receiving only a sigh in response.

* * *

"Quick, get them in the carts!" Alphonse-Charles de Belmont was almost yelling at his guards as they unloaded all the gold from it's store, not wanting to give it to the Assassins.

"Belmont you fool! How did you let this happen?" La Touche angrily asked, walking around and pushing Belmont's thugs away as they walked past him.

"How could I know that these hooded freaks would attack right on this night?!" Belmont replied defensively, crossing his arms.

"Maybe planting better lookouts than these so-called snipers who couldn't see them!" La Touche said, equally angry.

"It's not my fault if your's and His Grace's enemies are here!" Belmont yelled, though he instantly regretted bringing up le Roi des Thunes.

"You don't talk about His Grace like that, you worm!" La Touche replied, pointing his finger at Belmont's neckline. "Your noble family and that Chevalier brother of yours can't help you here, idiot!"

"Shut up, fool!" Belmont simply replied.

"You don't talk to me like that, Belmont." La Touche said as he walked closer to the brothel owner. "Remember who's in charge."

"It's not you, spineless worm!" Belmont persistently said.

"I'm His Grace's right-hand man if you forgot that, while you're just a replacement for Grignon!"

"If it wasn't for me, this brothel would a living hell already!"

"As if it already wasn't..."

Sounding offended, Belmont walked back to his table on the backyard and pulled out a document and some purses. He then walked to la Touche and threw three entire coin purses full of livres to the man. "Here, la Touche, for your personal gains!"

La Touche chuckled, before guarding the purses on his coat's pocket. "I should have expected better of you, Belmont."

"What? You ain't satisfied, I have more if you..."

"This ain't like the rest of Paris that was corrupted by you nobles, this is la Cour des Miracles. Here we want loyalty, not bribes."

"Doesn't seem like that."

"You know what Belmont? You go back to your brother's Hôtel and tell him to send help!" La Touche almost ordered.

Belmont chuckled in response. "And why would he waste money to help this district?"

"You know nothing, just do as I say!" La Touche ordered firmly, pulling a knife from his coat and raising it. "Your usefulness to His Grace has already vanished, so please do this last thing and be gone!"

"Sure..." Belmont hesitantly said. His guards had finished unloading the vaults with the money generating from the brothel, and he walked to them. "Load them onto the carts."

"Quickly! De Sade's dogs are close!" La Touche complemented, as he watched one of the carts go down to the underground, where it would be found by le Roi des Thunes' underlings. "And Belmont, you better keep your promise and talk to that bastard brother of yours!" La Touche said before walking away, desiring to keep away from the oncoming bloodshed.

"Yeah sure whatever, la Touche." Belmont replied annoyingly.

A guard ran to their location quickly, almost stumbling on his way. "Sir! They have already ransacked your office and the upper floors, they are coming to the backyard now!"

"Which means I have to flee right now!" Belmont said, nodding for his carriage driver. "Make sure all the money goes to His Grace or la Touche will have both ours heads!"

The guard nodded. "Yes, sir!" Before running off to join the battle inside the brothel as the six Assassins approached Belmont's location, though the deceitful brothel owner was already gone now.

* * *

"Merde." Arno simply said, walking around the backyard and looking at the multiple corpses of Belmont's guards.

"Where the hell is that worm Belmont?" Olivier asked, frustrated.

"Dead? Gone?" André suggested.

"The coward's already gone!" Jacques angrily said, kicking a wooden box down.

"He must have gone to that Hôtel, what was the name? Cully, Bully?" André said, kneeling before one of Belmont's thugs and looting him.

"L'Hôtel de Sully." Arno replied, walking around.

"Then we need to go and get them now!" Olivier said.

"Yeah we do, before he gets help from that Chevalier brother of his!" Jacques agreed.

"We should go now, and..." Jean tried, but was interrupted by that annoying voice of their ally.

"Good work, all of you! Now this brothel's mine and that worm's rule on the district is severely weakened!" De Sade calmly said as he walked around, seven corpses on the ground before him of Belmont's thugs.

"Though Belmont himself isn't very much dead..." Arno said annoyingly.

"One of you should be enough to get rid of that rat, Arno?" De Sade said, walking in circles around Arno.

"What?" Arno asked with a bit of annoyance on his voice, he knew de Sade better than most of the others due to some complications and schemes he was involved with that de Sade was in the middle.

"You should go kill the bastard, your five friends here can help me on finally getting rid of la Touche." De Sade suggested.

"I normally wouldn't agree with Monsieur de Sade but... that's a good idea." Olivier hesitantly said.

"I'll go to le Chevalier de Barrois' Hôtel then and put and end to his brother's life." Arno said, agreeing.

"Good luck, Arno!" His companions said as he left.

* * *

_January 8, 1791_

_Paris_

Infiltrating the Hôtel de Sully wasn't hard, though still challenging. Arno had left a trail of bodies on his way to Louis-Robert Belmont, le Chevalier de Barrois' personal room, bodies of de Barrois' guards.

Finally, he reached his destination. De Barrois' room was enormous, almost the size of the Café-Théâtre's restaurant area. De Barrois and his brother, Belmont, were discussing something. He swiftly climbed down the window he was at and hid on a wardrobe, the brothers missing him and continuing on their conversation.

"You want me to send men to aid le Roi des Thunes in la Cour des Miracles?" De Barrois asked incredulous.

"I know it doesn't seem normal, but I was associated with them..." Belmont replied hesitantly.

"Associated my ass!" De Barrois replied angrily, leaving Arno impressed by the language used by a man such as de Barrois. "You think I was born yesterday?"

"Brother, I have no idea what you're talking about..."

De Barrois laughed at that. "You think I don't have eyes and ears on a city like this? You were a freaking brothel owner, Alphonse!"

"That was because..."

"Not because you were out of money, you could have easily asked me for money. You wanted to be that, didn't you?"

"I didn't contact you because I didn't want to disappoint you, imagine, your brother asking you for money because he's on a crisis?"

"That was part of it, but you always had a taste for putain."

"Merde, that I did, fuck! They gave me money and putain in return for my services!"

"That's okay, brother."

"Of course! You always also brought women here!"

"Oh those delicious ones, I wish I could marry ten at the time."

"You're a devil, brother."

"That I am. Oh, and about that thing at la Cour des Miracles, don't worry, I'll send some men down there."

"Good, I'll take my leave then." Belmont said before walking off, preparing to leave the room.

"Already?" De Barrois asked confused, following him.

"Just send your men to la Cour des Miracles and be done with it!" Belmont said before closing the door behind him heavily.

"Connard." De Barrois muttered, before returning to his papers.

Arno used his Eagle Vision in order to see where Belmont was headed, he was on the stairs, no one was watching or seeing him. _Perfect_ , Arno thought before sneaking and making his way to the door, in order to escape unseen by de Barrois.

There he was, de Barrois didn't see him and Belmont was perfectly in front of him. With a sigh, Arno approached Belmont and forced the man to be on his knees, before extending his hidden blade and piercing Belmont's neck with it. Belmont gurgled blood, falling on the ground, his hands instantly heading for his bleeding neck, coughing blood and rolling to his side.

"Why, why did you do this?" Belmont asked desperately.

"Did you really thought you would escape justice?" Arno questioned, kneeling before the bleeding man.

"Justice? Justice for what?" Belmont asked again, his hands gripping his neck firmly.

"You know very well what! You treated your whores like they were animals, you helped le Roi des Thunes to force the beggars to pay them tributes!" Arno replied.

Belmont chuckled at that, though he coughed again in response. "These whores and beggars are nothing more than animals, they live to serve and to do as I say!"

"You don't see, Belmont, that you're the animal here!"

"No! All those whores are sheep, and I'm the wolf. All these beggars are dogs, and I'm their owner!"

"You're mad." Arno simply said.

Belmont laughed in response, before lowering his head to the ground, succumbing to his wounds. Arno then took a deep breath, before closing the man's eyes and muttering a "Repose en Paix" to the corpse. He stood up and prepared to leave the Hôtel, but he had to pass through le Chevalier de Barrois' room first. Before Arno could even enter the room again, de Barrois opened the door rudely and instantly pushed Arno down, causing the Assassin to fall near Belmont's corpse.

"You... bastard!" De Barrois said as he looked to his brother's corpse, bleeding heavily with his eyes closed. "You will pay for that, Assassin." De Barrois said as he unsheated his sword, a fine-crafted rapier with a golden hilt and pointing it at Arno. The Assassin then unsheated his own sabre.

"How do you..." Arno tried to ask, but was interrupted by de Barrois leaping on him, his blade missing Arno's neck in a matter of inches. Arno was quick to respond, but de Barrois was good, very good to say the least. Arno exchanged furious blows with le Chevalier, though de Barrois could easily counter each of them like he was used to. De Barrois then stroke Arno's sabre with a heavy blow and pushed him against his room.

Arno was quick to stand up, but de Barrois entered the room quickly and closed the door before him. He pulled out a double-barreled pistol and leveled it at Arno, who did the same with his own pistol. "Seems we're at a little impasse, _mon ami_." Arno calmly said, centering his aim at de Barrois' heart.

"A shame, I'd solve this conflict like a real man." De Barrois said before swiftly lowering himself and shooting a bullet on Arno's pistol, surprising the Assassin who was slower. The pistol grew free of Arno's grip, flying to the ground and shattering in pieces. De Barrois still had a bullet left, which raised troubling things. Arno quickly leveled his wrist at de Barrois' hand, shooting the dart onto le Chevalier's wrist and making him scream in pain.

"Guess I just solved it." Arno said, grinning at de Barrois' surprised and enraged figure.

"You think you can get me with a stupid dart?!" De Barrois said as he picked up his refined rapier from the ground. "I still got one hand, boy."

"Soon you won't." Arno taunted, as de Barrois approached him. De Barrois was the first to strike, violently swinging his sword on Arno's direction, but then suddenly striking him again, cutting some blood from his shoulder, grinning in satisfaction. Arno spat blood on his eyes in response, confusing de Barrois, as Arno took the opportunity and violently stroke de Barrois' chest.

"Bastard!" De Barrois said as he exchanged more and more blows with his opponent, before crouching and avoiding a swing from Arno's sword, then hitting Arno's wrist with his sword guard, making Arno's sabre fly off his hand. De Barrois then pushed Arno, who fell on the ground on his back, trying to get up, but de Barrois swiftly stopped him by placing his foot on Arno's chest.

"It's over." De Barrois simply said, raising his rapier. "Good riddance, Assassin." The man said as he prepared to pierce his sword on Arno's chest, but suddenly he heard a noise from the window and looked from his shoulder to the window.

_BANG!_

The shot went right through de Barrois' shoulder, causing him to gasp in surprise and place his hand on his now bleeding shoulder, losing balance and falling to the ground. Arno then raised his head to look at the source of the gunshot, grinning when he saw Olivier on the window.

"Saved your ass, didn't I?" Olivier mocked, putting his pistol on it's holster.

"Go to hell, Olivier." Arno said, punching Olivier's shoulder slightly.

"Is Belmont dead?" Olivier asked.

"That he is, but as it turns out his brother somehow knows that..."

De Barrois was agonizing in pain on the ground, both hands on his bleeding shoulder. "Fucking Assassins!" He angrily said, rolling to his sides. "What, you bastards really thought I was just an idiot who obeyed anything my stupid little brother told me to?"

Realization dawned on Arno as he finally noticed. "You're a Templar."

De Barrois laughed in response. "Of course I am, if I was some common noble chevalier out there, you think I would send help to a district like la Cour des Miracles?"

"You were sending help to le Roi des Thunes... a fellow Templar." Olivier joined in, understanding the situation.

"But thanks to you, I imagine that will never happen. Congratulations!" De Barrois playfully said.

"What are you and your allies up to?" Arno questioned as he kneeled before de Barrois.

"Grand-Master Germain has come with the most wonderful plan to cleanse France of it's corruption." De Barrois replied.

Arno remembered the name Germain, _so the bastard really is the Grand-Master_. "What plan? Tell me!" Arno angrily said, grabbing de Barrois' shirt and pulling him up, making the man cough.

"The real plan will only happen after we deal with the nuisance. Tomorrow we shall strike, both the traitors and your leader will fall!"

Arno instantly remembered the meeting Mirabeau had negotiated with Lafrenière, the new leader of de la Serre's remaining supporters. "Mirabeau and Lafrenière..."

"Of course..." De Barrois said. "And that's about everything you'll get for me!" De Barrois said as he grabbed Arno's wrist, extending his hidden blade and forcing it into his own throat, gurgling blood before bleeding to death.

"Damn..." Both Arno and Olivier said, closing de Barrois' eyes. Arno saw de Barrois' desk, and pointed at it. "There, that should contain the Templars' plans!" The two Assassins walked to the desk, and each grabbed the two papers that were on it. The document Arno got was a letter, he broke the seal and started to deal.

_R._

_I shall send two dozens of my best men to aid you in killing the traitor and the Assassin, they should arrive at your hideout in a few days. They are all trained by the finest teachers, and after I finish writing this letter, I'll make sure they get to know it. My brother, Belmont, has requested help from le Roi des Thunes. I'll send some men there in order to help dealing with de Sade and the Assassins._

_Grand-Master Germain shall not be disappointed, we need to get rid of our two targets as soon as possible. They will meet at the Café-Théâtre a week from now, that's when we'll strike._

_May the Father of Understanding guide us,_

_D.B._

" _Merde."_ Arno muttered as he closed the letter and handed it to Olivier, who did the same with his own document. "Just read it and see how the situation's bad."

_Augustin Grisier_

_Guillaume Beylier_

_Émile de Clieuny_

_François Lieuvay_

_Charles Dorian_

What Arno read were many respected masters of the Assassin Brotherhood, but he was shocked when he saw his father's name on the list. He hadn't seen Charles since late 1790, on a mission he helped him against some corrupt bankers. He wondered what this list meant, maybe a list of targets?

"We should burn this letter to this "R" before any of de Barrois' thugs get them, we can't allow them to go to la Cour des Miracles or to help in this assassination attempt." Olivier suggested.

"You're right." Arno agreed, as Olivier threw de Barrois' letter on the fireplace. "I wonder what this list here means."

"You saw your father's name, didn't you?" Olivier asked.

"Of course I did. We should bring this to Mirabeau."

"Agreed."

They both left the Hôtel, though not before hiding Belmont's and de Barrois' corpses.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did it...
> 
> 6,692 words on a SINGLE chapter. It wasn't supposed to be that long, I was originally planning for a certain fiery Templar to appear at the end, but it was already so long I decided to stop it.


	7. The Ambush

_January 12, 1791_

_Paris_

Élise looked at the corpse of her lieutenant, the Chevalier de Barrois, murdered by the Assassins, at least according to the witness.

De Barrois was one of their most important and essential members, since he was a wealthy French military leader and whenever they needed more men or soldiers, de Barrois could easily recruit soldiers into the Order or use them to say the least. He was also a cunning swordsman, a passionate Templar and a tactical and patient leader. He was responsible for training their best warriors and giving them the best swords and firearms.

And now he was dead.

The witness only told them that he had seen the dead body of Chevalier's brother in the stairs and that a hooded man with a blue coat had been the one to commit the murder. Little straps of green and blue fabric were also found throughout de Barrois' room, indicating that two Assassins had been responsible for the murder.

Albéric Lamonte, the Templars' surgeon and doctor, was on the ground examining de Barrois' corpse. After finishing, Lamonte got up and walked to Élise, nodding. "Monsieur de Barrois was indeed killed by an Assassin's wrist blade on his throat, but he was also shot in the shoulder." Lamonte explained.

"I see." Élise replied, crossing her arms. "What about his brother?"

"Also killed by a hidden blade, though he wasn't shot at all." Lamonte said.

"Did the witness knew where the killer escaped?" Élise asked.

"No, he said he hid behind a table when he saw Chevalier's brother get stabbed in the stairs, he then heard a gunshot and when he opened the door to the room, all that he found was de Barrois' corpse." Lamonte explained.

"The killer for sure was an Assassin." Élise concluded.

"Likely, though I'm not entirely sure if it was a wrist blade that killed the two men." Lamonte replied.

"More solid evidence then..." Élise said.

"Indeed."

"Remove the bullet from de Barrois' shoulder." Élise ordered.

"Are... are you sure you want to see that, Mademoiselle?" Lamonte asked hesitantly.

"I'm not like those usual stupid noblewomen, Lamonte." Élise replied, with some annoyance in her tone.

"Alright then." Lamonte replied, walking over to de Barrois' corpse. "Remove the bullet." He ordered to his assistant.

"As you wish, Monsieur Lamonte." The man replied as he kneeled before the Chevalier's corpse, before pulling out a dagger and viciously making cuts on the dead man's shoulder, making blood erupt from the wound. _He's dead anyway, he won't feel the pain._ Élise thought, even though she didn't like to make such disrespect for a resting man's body, but sometimes it was necessary.

"Shiny." Lamonte's assistant simply said as he removed the bullet from de Barrois' shoulder, a bronze bullet covered by blood. "It's made of bronze."

"Give it here." Lamonte ordered, receiving the bloodied little object from the man. He cleaned the blood from the bullet with his gloves, and examined it. "Look." Lamonte said as he handed the bullet to Élise, pointing at the edge.

An Assassin symbol was engraved on it.

"Yes, an Assassin killed him." Élise said, looking at the little familiar symbol on the bullet.

"Uh, I found something, Monsieur Lamonte." Lamonte's assistant shyly said.

"What was it, Antoine?" Lamonte impatiently asked, turning around to face Antoine, his assistant.

"A broken pistol." Antoine replied, lowering himself to the ground to pick up a scarred and shattered pistol from the ground. "Here." He said as he gave it to his master.

" _Merci_ , Antoine." Lamonte replied as he took the pistol from Antoine's hand, examining it. His eyes grew wide when he saw another Assassin symbol on the pistol's trigger.

"Let me see it." Élise ordered, and Lamonte promptly gave it to the red-head. She picked the pistol with one hand, and upon examining the trigger, she too saw the tiny symbol. "Damn Assassins..."

"Wait a moment, Mademoiselle." Lamonte said as he grabbed the pistol from Élise's grip and checked how many bullets were loaded, surprising himself when he noticed that all three bullets of the triple barreled pistol were there. "This pistol didn't shoot one bullet at all."

"Which means that another one did." Élise said, bringing her hand to her chin, resting her arm on the other hand.

"De Barrois' pistol fired one, which was probably what broke this pistol."

"And de Barrois' pistol was broken by a dart, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"Then two Assassins did the work." Élise concluded. "That's why there's some green fabric near the window and blue fabric on the doors and on the stairs!"

"Exactly, Mademoiselle." Lamonte said, impressed.

"Alright, we know now for sure that the Assassins killed the Chevalier. Though I have no idea how they discovered his affiliation to the Order." Élise said, curious.

"They have many snitches and informants in every nook and cranny of the town." Lamonte said.

"Yes, and le Hôtel de Sully is a rather easy place to have informants planted on. But..."

"It matters not, Mademoiselle, but now we need another man like de Barrois." Lamonte interrupted.

"Indeed we do. Without him, our manpower will be damaged." Élise agreed.

"I think I know just the man." Lamonte said, grinning slightly.

"Who?" Élise asked curiously, wondering who a man like Lamonte knew a capable man like the Chevalier de Barrois.

"His name is Arno Dorian." Lamonte replied.

"What, what..." Élise tried to ask, stumbling on the words as they clumsily left her mouth. "You're joking, right?"

"Why would I be? Arno's a very good warrior, a minor member of the nobility if I'm not mistaken and a capable and good man." Lamonte countered, curious as of why Élise had said that he was joking.

"Did you worked with him?" Élise asked.

"Not exactly, I asked him some favors in return for some information on a corrupt nobleman." Lamonte replied.

"What favors?"

"The death of three blackmailers, which unknown to him, were rivals of me on personal matters."

"Very good..." Élise said, walking around the room and grinning.

"Why? Do you know him?" Lamonte asked curiously.

"I sort of know him, I met him at a torture room." Élise replied, chuckling slightly.

"What?" Lamonte asked as his eyes grew wide.

"Albéric, Arno Dorian is a member of the Assassins." Élise said seriously.

"I had no idea..." Lamonte replied shocked.

"But I'm glad you told me all that." Élise replied.

"Why? I thought you would be angered."

"Because you have one of the most skilled members of the Assassin Brotherhood as your acquaintance, and that would be very helpful."

"Why, you're right Mademoiselle!"

"Why don't you set up a meeting with this Monsieur Arno Dorian?"

"That can be arranged."

"Good, this time he won't escape the interrogation."

Élise left the room, and Lamonte grinned slightly for unknown reasons.

* * *

_January 14, 1791_

_Paris_

"More letters, more trouble." Arno said with a tired voice, opening his little box of letters and grabbing the first one before sitting on an armchair.

_A._

_I've got her right on my little finger, the Grand-Master's daughter! I imagine this will be of great help for you and the Brotherhood, because I think we can plan the best trap to get the lass on our interrogation rooms._

_I have told her of you, and saw the perfect opportunity. Meet me at the alleyway right next the Maison Blanche tomorrow, she'll come out and we can then capture the bitch! Make sure to bring your three little friends, the lass is pretty good at fighting, I've saw her take down two of our Brothers at the same time. Since you've already met her, you know her hair is the color of flames._

_I've already informed and received Mirabeau's blessing, don't forget it!_

_L._

"Great!" Arno said as he closed the letter and put it back on the box. "Our positions will be switched now, Mademoiselle Élise." Arno said, grinning slightly.

* * *

_January 15, 1791_

_Paris_

"Albéric." Élise greeted as she approached her ally near the bar. "I trust you have summoned Monsieur Dorian?"

"Yes, Mademoiselle Élise, we'll get the bastard right on our fingers." Lamonte replied with a hidden ironical tone.

"I've come with two guards, I've seen Monsieur Dorian in action when he was hurt, I can only imagine how skilled he is when he is at his best." Élise said.

_Yes you can only imagine._ Lamonte thought, forcing himself not to chuckle or giggle. "Where are them?" Lamonte asked.

"Right there." Élise said, pointing at two men on the bar, who were pretending to drink. "When our friend arrives, they'll be ready."

"Good, good." Lamonte replied quickly, trying to mask his excitement.

"So, where shall we meet him?" Élise asked, walking around, looking at the drunks around the bar babbling about the nobles' corruption.

"Exactly on that alleyway there." Lamonte replied, pointing his fingers at a dark alleyway by the bar.

"We should go now." Élise suggested, making her way to the alley, with Lamonte quickly and eagerly following her.

"Can you tell me the circumstances of your meeting with Monsieur Dorian?" Lamonte asked, trying to clear up old questions he didn't asked Arno.

"Well, after Grignon's assassination, I was sent to his former brothel," Élise said. "And it seems Dorian followed me since he entered a room next to the one I was."

"So you captured him?"

"I saw him and grabbed a nearby broom and smashed it against the back of his head," Élise replied, the memories of the moment had never left her mind somehow. "I called the thugs and brought him to L'Hôtel Voysin to interrogate him."

"And I imagine that didn't go very well?"

"Nope. I tried to convince him to give in information, I hurt him, but he did no cooperated."

"The Assassins were willing to die and suffer for their cause ever since the Middle Ages. Do you know the story of Al Mualim's Assassins in Masyaf?"

"Which one?" Élise asked. "I know that Al Mualim was once a Templar and betrayed our cause for his own gains, and used Altaïr, his best Assassin, to tie up loose ends and take the Piece of Eden he stole from the Templars for himself."

"But Altaïr discovered his schemes and ended his life before he could proceed further with his conspiracies." Lamonte completed, remembering Assassin history.

"And the bastard became the wisest Assassin ever basically."

"Exactly." Lamonte agreed.

"Well anyway, what story did you talked about?" Élise finally asked after a few seconds.

"Not that one, I mean the Assassins' willingness to die for their cause." Lamonte replied firmly.

"Well, if it's so specific like that, I don't know. Tell me, please?"

"During several Sieges on Masyaf, performed by Saracens, Crusaders and even members of our Order, al Mualim always ordered his subordinates to show that their belief for their cause is stronger than any religion, Deity or cult."

"What did he ordered them to?"

"They willingly leaped off the walls and cliffs of Masyaf to their deaths, taking a leap of faith."

"My god... so that's the fabled leap of faith."

"Yes, they willingly jump for their cause, believing that they'll somehow survive."

"It all makes sense now." Élise said, realization dawning on her mind. "Most of the Assassin masters and high-ranking members were captured and interrogated were unwilling to give up information."

"Yes, it's true." Lamonte replied.

"Well, I already took them seriously, but now even more." Élise said with a serious voice.

Lamonte was proud and hesitant at the same time. He probably made her become more careful with the Assassins, but at the same time showed her that they're just as strong as her Order.

* * *

"They're alone." Olivier said, looking and pointing at the two lonely Templars in the tavern.

"And vulnerable." André added.

"Easy targets, they are." Jacques said, crossing his arms. "Will our all-powerful lord, Prince-Regent of King Bellec, give us orders?" He joked, looking playfully at Arno.

"Jacques, please let's..." Arno tried to said, but was cut off by Jacques laughing.

"What are your orders, your majesty?" Jacques asked, trying to force a serious tone.

"My orders are that you shut your mouth." Arno replied.

"Can you two stop this _merde_ and focus at the task at hand?" André suggested and asked at the same time, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Oh I didn't know you were Prince Arno's valet who orders him around." Jacques joked. At this point, he was completely ignoring the important mission at hand.

"Shut up Jacques, this is an important mission!" André said impatiently.

"Prince Arno's valet wants some beer." Jacques mocked.

"Shut. The. Hell. Up!" André replied, losing his temper and violently slapping Jacques' cheek. The axe-wielding Assassin stumbled backwards, his left hand covering the new red mark on his cheek.

"That's just another little mark, André." Jacques said, ignoring the pain plaguing his face. _André does slap hard._ He thought, but shook his head and stayed on a mocking position to André.

"That face of yours Jacques is already something that fell from a cow's ass, and now it's going to be reduced to only a pile of skin!" André said.

Before the cream-coated Assassin could strike Jacques again, Arno extended his hidden blade and swung it violently, though he made sure not to hit his colleagues. André and Jacques both took a step back in shock.

"Can you two idiots stop this and let's focus at the damn mission?" Arno said impatiently, tapping his foot. "Jacques, that woman with Lamonte is the supposed daughter of the new Grand-Master, don't you understand the importance of this?!"

"Yes, Arno, I was just..." Jacques tried to reply, suddenly seeming to understand.

"Bellec's put me in charge of this mission for a reason," Arno said. "I know that woman, she ain't like the rest of noblewomen that only care about dresses and fashion, she ain't afraid of hurting someone and is very good at swordsmanship. So, be careful, and let me explain the plan."

"Go on." Each of the other Assassins said.

Arno chuckled nervously. "Jacques and André will take care of our two Templar friends in the pub," Arno said, not wanting to involve Jacques in the most important task. "Me and André will ambush the target, and she needs to be taken alive." Arno said, clearing his throat. "Understand?"

They nodded and went to their respective places, with Arno and André walking peacefully to the alleyway, hoping not to attract any type of attention. While Olivier and Jacques entered the pub quietly, trying to blend in with the crowd.

"Do you see them?" Jacques whispered to Olivier, trying to look for the two Templars, who had left the table they were at.

"No, they were here just now!" Olivier whispered back, frustrated.

" _Merde._ " Jacques muttered under his breath. "They must have gone to their master."

"They cannot arrive there still breathing." Olivier said seriously, looking at his wrist.

"Look for them," Jacques said. "I've had a few bottles yesterday, my sense's not working very well."

"Marvelous, Jacques, marvelous." Olivier said playfully.

"Oh shut up and use yours." Jacques said, rolling his eyes, but then a spark appeared on his eye. "Unless..."

"Say nothing more, if you still wish to breathe." Olivier warned angrily, receiving a complicated chuckle in response. Olivier then concentrated and closed his eyes, using his Assassin senses to see through the environment, seeing the two Templar guards at a door that led to an area near the alleyway. They had hands on the rapiers on their belts, scanning the area for danger.

"See them now?" Jacques asked, crossing his arms impatiently.

"Yes." Olivier replied. "They're making their way towards the meeting."

"Good." Jacques said, uncrossing his arms and walking to the door. "What are we waiting for?"

Olivier chuckled, before following Jacques. They walked off the tavern and found the two Templar agents by an alleyway.

"This is taking way too long, Joseph." One of them said.

"I knew those Assassins were some lazy crapsacks." Joseph replied, kicking a nearby bucket impatiently.

"At least the pay's good. With that amount of livres, I can properly introduce my son into the Order." The other one said, forcing a smile.

"You know that he's more interested in books than swords, don't you?" Joseph questioned, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Well, he's going to get his books, but will also be a proper Templar." The other one said quickly and confidently, almost proud.

"Poor boy, you're forcing a destiny he didn't chose on him." Joseph lamented.

"Why do you care? You think he'll survive being anything else?"

"That's not what I..." Joseph tried to answer his fellow Templar's question, but then Olivier stabbed his throat with his Hidden Blade.

" _Mon dieu!_ " The surviving Templar agent said, looking with a shocked gaze at Joseph's crumbling body and the man who killed him. "Please, Monsieur, have mercy!"

"You should have gone on a less risky assignment, _mon ami_." Olivier remarked, walking towards the agent.

"Fucking Assassin!" The man yelled before unsheathing his rapier and leveling it at Olivier.

"Look to the stars, partner, look to the stars." Olivier simply said, with a devil's grin on his face.

"What does that even me-" The Templar was silenced by Jacques, who leaped on him from a balcony and killed the man swiftly with his blade.

"Done." Olivier said.

"Done." Jacques agreed.

"Now to find Arno, Lamonte and that damned girl." Olivier said, before nodding for Jacques to follow him.

* * *

"Where is the damn man, Lamonte?" Élise asked impatiently, leaning against the alleyway's wall. By now she didn't care if there was the blood of victims of the Revolution's extremists on the wall, if it was dirty or if some patron fucked a whore in that spot, she was already impatient enough she could kick a pig.

"He's coming, Mademoiselle Élise, just wait." Lamonte said, forcing a comprehensive smile.

"I've already waited for more than an hour, the bastard better remember this!" Élise said angrily, crossing her arms. She didn't care if she was looking like some spoiled angry brat, or like a baby when his mother is feeding his younger brother and not him. She had the reputation of having an explosive fiery temper, and that's why the men from the Order did not made advances on her without her interest.

Not that she was interested in any Templars at all.

"He must be coming right now." Lamonte said, standing on his tiptoes and looking at the busy street.

"Where the hell are Joseph and Charles now?" Élise asked, removing her back from the wall and walking around the alleyway, looking for her two guards.

"They must have fallen for the temptations of beer and women." Lamonte faked a lament.

"A shame really, Charles' wife would be disappointed." Élise said.

"He has a wife?" Lamonte asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, a son too." Élise replied quietly and casually.

"I had no idea..." Lamonte muttered under his breath, before sighing and returning to lean on the wall.

"Look." Élise said, a spark in her eye. "That must be Dorian." She said, pointing at a blue-coated individual walking pass the alleyway.

"Hide, NOW." Lamonte murmured, walking towards the newcomer, as Élise hid behind several barrels, crates and discarded furniture by the alleyway.

"Monsieur Lamonte." The newcomer murmured, pushing his hood down and revealing his face.

"Arno." Lamonte said, extending his hand and shaking hands with Arno.

Élise looked slightly at Arno, and was surprised when she noticed that when she furiously whipped his cheek once, it left a scar on his cheek.

"So, why did you called me?" Arno asked, even though he already knew of everything anyway.

"A contact of mine wishes to speak with you," Lamonte replied calmly. "She wants a capable, loyal and ferocious warrior by her side, and I thought you as a the perfect one for that matter."

"Interesting." Arno said, walking around. "What's the woman's name?"

"It matters not as of now, do you accept?" Lamonte replied, continuing on with the facade.

Élise was paying attention to the conversation, but she thought she had heard something behind her. She looked from her shoulders to see if there was someone approaching her, but saw nothing. _I really am seeing things_. She thought, before turning her attention back to the two men.

"I need to know more." Arno said. "Where and when can I meet her?" He asked.

"The Brinesiers Palace in Versailles." Lamonte replied firmly. Élise did not recognize the name, he was probably inventing it. Now it seemed the perfect opportunity to knock the Assassin out, and she quietly slipped off her hiding place.

"Good." Arno said, and Lamonte saw Élise approaching Arno from behind. She nodded at him, but he instead nodded at Arno, confusing her. The blue-coated Assassin suddenly turned and pulled out his pistol, leveling it at Élise.

" _Merde_." Élise swore, looking shocked to Arno, how the hell could he notice her? Was she too noisy? She ignored these thoughts and looked at Lamonte, asking with her eyes for him to help her.

"Good afternoon for you too, Mademoiselle Élise." Arno mocked, grinning at her.

"Indeed a good afternoon." Lamonte said, pulling out his own pistol and leveling it at her.

Élise's face was now a mixture of shock and anger. "What the..."

Arno laughed. "Did you really think you were the only ones who got snitches in their respective orders?" He said.

"Templar scumbags are always so arrogant." Lamonte said mockingly. "I feel bad for once truly being one of them."

"Lamonte, you son of a bitch." Élise said angrily, hands on her waist.

"The difference is, the Assassins can actually eliminate the moles within their Brotherhood, Templars never do." Arno said.

Élise felt footsteps behind her, and before she could do anything, an Assassin with a cream-colored coat made her turn around to face him and put a cream cloth on her face, and then the world went dark for her.

"That was easier than I thought it would be." André said, placing Élise's unconscious body on a nearby wooden table and picking her sword, dagger and pistol.

"Don't underestimate this woman because of today. She was caught surprised, that's one of her main weaknesses." Lamonte said, as Arno placed one hand on Élise's waist and the other on her back before carrying her.

"Let's be discreet." Arno said, looking at the figure in his arms, it somehow felt good having her in his arms.

"Is the carriage ready?" Jacques asked.

"Yes." Lamonte said, pointing at a common carriage by the street. "Right there, be quick."

They opened the carriage doors, and Arno tied Élise's wrists and feet, making her sit in the carriage's seat before joining Lamonte in the driver's seat on the front.

"Let's go." Lamonte ordered, as Arno prepared to make the horses move.

" _Au revoir._ " Arno muttered to his three brothers-in-arms on the street, before leaving with the carriage.

"Those guys are damn lucky." Jacques said.

"We have another assignment, Jacques, and Arno's going to do the rest of the one we just did." Olivier said calmly.

"What's the next one actually?" Jacques asked puzzled, receiving two sighs as a response. "What I'm serious."

"We've got to kill yet another one of le Roi des Thunes' agents, and no it's not la Touche, the bastard keeps escaping." André explained.

"Bruh." Jacques muttered. "That's getting boring."

"We'll see how boring it will be when we put an end to the life of the King of Worms." Olivier said.

"Well, I hope I get to say that _le Roi est mort_ before anyone else in the Cour des Miracles.

"You can dream about it later, 'cause I'll be the first." André mocked.

They all chuckled before running off to la Cour des Miracles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was chapter seven.
> 
> Next chapter will be about the INTERROGATION (grins evilly)
> 
> I really am sorry for the lateness, but life's been really difficult, hope you understand
> 
> PS: I AM NOT A MEMBER OF THE ILLUMINATI FOR POSTING THIS ON 11/9, I'M SERIOUS!


End file.
